Two more ships leave Ukraine

ISTANBUL: Two more ships left Ukraine's Black Sea ports on Friday, including one laden with the first Ukrainian wheat to be exported under a UN-brokered deal, Turkey's defence ministry said.

A total of 14 ships have left Ukraine over the past two weeks after the deal with Russia to allow a resumption of grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, after they were stalled for five months due to the war.

The United Nations and Turkey reached an agreement last month amid the fears that the loss of Ukrainian grain supplies would lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.

The Belize-flagged Sormovsky left Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on Friday, Turkey's defence ministry said, carrying 3,050 tons of wheat to Turkey's northwestern Tekirdag province.

It was the first shipment of wheat from Ukraine, which, along with Russia, accounted for nearly a third of global wheat exports before February 24, when Moscow launched what it describes as a special operation to demilitarise its neighbour.

Ukraine has 20 million tons of grain left over from last year's crop, while this year's wheat harvest is estimated to be 20 million tons.

The Marshall Island-flagged Star Laura left from the port of Pivdennyi and arrived in Iran with 60,000 tons of corn aboard, the ministry said.

Most of the cargoes under the deal have grain for animal feed or fuel.