Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" on Thursday to let dozens of cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war last year sail into the Black Sea, where shipping routes are under scrutiny since Russia quit a deal to allow grain exports.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
KYIV, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” on Thursday to let dozens of cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war last year sail into the Black Sea, where shipping routes are under scrutiny since Russia quit a deal to allow grain exports.
But it could be a major test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen sea lanes at a time when Russia is trying to reimpose its de-facto blockade, having abandoned the grain deal last month.
“Today a new temporary humanitarian corridor has started to work,” Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, told Reuters by telephone.
“The corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose,” he said.
The routes would “primarily be used for civilian ships which have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022.”
The United Nations has said Russia’s decision to quit the deal risks creating a global food crisis, hurting poor countries worst, by keeping grain from one of the world’s biggest exporters off the market.
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