Odessa: After Russia's invasion of its neighbour, the first shipment of Ukrainian grain as part of a deal to ease the global food crisis departed from the port of Odessa on Monday.

The blockade of shipments from Russia and Ukraine, the world's two biggest grain exporters, has contributed to soaring food prices, which have particularly hurt the world's poorest countries.

A landmark agreement was signed by the two sides with Turkey and the United Nations last month to tackle the world food crisis.
According to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry, the ship Rajoni has left the port of Odessa on its way to Tripoli, Lebanon.

Expected to be in Istanbul on 2 August. After the investigation in Istanbul, it will continue its journey. It added that subsequent convoys would respect the maritime corridor and established formalities.

The Joint Coordination Center, the organization that regulates grain exports, reported that Rajoni is carrying "more than 26,000 metric tons" of corn.

According to Ukrainian officials, 17 ships carrying about 600,000 tons of cargo were held in Black Sea ports in Ukraine. In total, 16 of them contained about 580,000 tons of Ukrainian grain.
The ship's departure was "warmly welcomed" by UN chief Antonio Guterres, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba hailed it as a "relief for the world".

The first Ukrainian grain leaves Odessa on this day of relief for the whole world, especially after months of Russian blockade for our friends in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Kuleba tweeted that should Russia uphold its end of the deal, Ukraine has always been and will be a trusted partner.

Russia has denied blame for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions on the approach to its ports to slow Ukrainian mining and exports. Although much-needed grain exports will be appreciated, the conflict in Ukraine continues.

On Sunday, Russian missiles bombed the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv in Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin underscored Russia's maritime ambitions in the Black Sea and the Arctic, drawing the United States as his main adversary. Signed the naval doctrine.

In a speech for Navy Day, Putin said the Navy would soon receive hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles, but made no mention of the conflict in Ukraine. Missiles can overtake air defenses by moving up to nine times the speed of sound.

Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol were cut short, according to the Crimean port city governor Mikhail Razvozayev, when five Russian Navy soldiers were injured in an explosion after a rumored drone flew over the courtyard of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The local mayor attributed the attack to "Ukrainian nationalists" who forced the cancellation of festivities that mark Russia's annual holiday in honor of the Navy.

However, the Ukrainian Navy alleged that Russia staged the attacks on the pretext of postponing the celebrations.

The mayor of Ukraine's Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevich, said there were more than 12 missile strikes on Sunday, the most powerful to hit the city in the past five months of hostilities. Two have been confirmed dead and three injured. The missile strikes continued till Sunday night.

According to Mykolaiv governor Vitaly Kim on Telegram, Oleksiy Vadatursky, the founder and owner of the agricultural firm Nibulon in Ukraine, and his wife were murdered in their home.

Nibulon is a company that specializes in the production and export of wheat, barley and corn. It is headquartered in Mykolaiv, a strategically important city largely bordering the Russian-occupied Kherson region. Nibulon also has its own fleet and shipyard.

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