None of ships leaving Ukraine's grain corridor heading for Africa

Ships using the grain corridor are headed for China, Europe and Turkey, according to Kiev s proclamations aside.

According to the New York Times, none of the grain ships leaving Ukrainian ports by Tuesday are headed for African countries that are most at risk of starvation, despite the Kiev authorities saying help was on the way for Middle East, Africa and Asia. The cargo of the first ship to leave the grain corridor arrangement was rejected by the buyers in Lebanon, who cited the delivery delay.

Ten ships have left Ukrainian ports since the arrangement went into effect on August 1, carrying mainly animal feed to their destinations. One is going to England, another to Ireland, and several are on their way to China, Italy and Turkey. The Times reported on Tuesday that none of them are bound for Yemen, Somalia, or other countries that are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

The first ship to reach its destination was the Turkish-flagged Polarnet, which docked in Derince on Monday with 12,000 tons of corn. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Ukraine will not abandon you, and that it sends a message of hope to every family in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. On Monday, President Vladimir Zelensky told his counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana that Ukraine was ready to continue to be the guarantor of world food security. According to experts, most of the 20 million tons of grain held up in Ukrainian ports for the past several months is animal feed and not intended for human consumption.

The first ship to leave Ukraine under the grain corridor arrangement carried 26,000 metric tons of chicken feed, destined for Lebanon. The Sierra Leone-flagged freighter Razoni sailed out of Odessa on August 1 to much fanfare only to be turned back from Beirut on Monday, after the Lebanese buyer refused to accept the shipment as several months too late.

Ukraine accounts for about 5% of the world's grain exports, while Russia's share is four times that much. Kiev accused Russia of blocking its ports, while Moscow pointed out that it was the Ukrainian military that mined the sea lanes.

The UN and Turkey negotiated a deal to allow safe passage to ships coming and going to Ukrainian ports. The outbound vessels are inspected to make sure they are carrying grain, fertilizer and food, while the incoming ships are checked for weapons.

The deal was supposed to address Western sanctions against Russian shipping, which effectively prevents Moscow from delivering food, fertilizer and other goods to customers in Africa and South America. In an op-ed published in several major African outlets last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pledged that Moscow was taking all measures to ensure the delivery of contractually promised supplies.