Ukraine’s grain corridor reaches pre-war capacity

Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said this during the telethon.

"Most of the cargo is grain, which is so lacking in the so-called global South... As for its (grain corridor - ed.) operation, it has actually reached its capacity before the full-scale invasion. We have already crossed the line of 500 ships and more than 10 million tons of cargo," Pletenchuk said.

According to him, the existing grain corridor is not an alternative to the trade route that existed before the full-scale war.

"The amount of cargo speaks for itself," the naval spokesman emphasized.

As for the demining of the Black Sea, Ukraine currently does not have the necessary capacities. At the same time, work is underway, and Ukraine is using underwater drones for demining to secure cargo moving by sea.

"The main problem is airspace. They (the Russians - ed.) mine mainly using their aviation. As soon as this problem is solved, we can say that this problem with remote mining will also be solved," Pletenchuk said.

Work of the grain corridor: what is known

On 17 July, Russia announced the termination of the grain deal. In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it was necessary to continue using the grain corridor even despite Russia's withdrawal from the agreement. 

On August 4, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that Ukraine would send ships with its own grain to wherever it deems necessary and would not ask anyone for permission.

On August 10, the Ukrainian Navy announced a temporary humanitarian corridor for merchant ships sailing to and from Ukrainian ports.

On August 12, Ukraine opened the registration of merchant ships and their owners who are ready to use temporary routes to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

On August 16, the first vessel left the port of Odesa after Russia announced that it would terminate the grain deal on July 16, 2023.

On October 26, it was reported that the grain corridor had allegedly been temporarily suspended, but the Ministry of Infrastructure denied the rumors, noting that Ukrainian ports continue to handle ships.

As of mid-November 2023, 100 vessels had passed through the temporary grain corridor in the Black Sea, and as of early January 2024, 15 million tons of grain had been exported from Ukraine.