First ship carrying Ukrainian grain arrives in Istanbul

This is written by the Turkish publication Daily Sabah with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Turkey, AFP and Reuters.

"The RAZONI dry cargo, loaded with corn, departed yesterday from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, reached the entrance to the Black Sea from the Bosphorus Strait and anchored at the designated place of arrival," the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Now the Razoni, which sails under the flag of Sierra Leone, is to be inspected by a joint inspection team, which includes Russian and Ukrainian officials. The coordination center in Istanbul is responsible for the inspection.

After the inspection, the ship must deliver a cargo of 26,000 tons of corn to the port of Tripoli in Lebanon.

"Millions of people around the world watched the progress of this ship today. This is our contribution to global food security, which we are making despite Russian aggression. Allies help Ukraine fight the enemy, Ukraine helps the world fight hunger," said the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The government official noted that he expects to export more than 20 million tons of last year's harvest, and more than 6 million tons of new ones have already been collected, the general forecast of the new harvest is at the level of 50-60 million tons.

He also expressed gratitude to our partners from the UN and Turkey for fulfilling the security parameters of the initiative.

"We expect that other vessels with Ukrainian food will also pass successfully," the Minister commented.