Zelenskyy's rep: 'UN should use all levers so that Russia doesn't prevent transportation of Ukrainian grain'

Our partners from the West, first of all, the UN, which was the main initiator of the Grain Deal, should use all levers so that Russia does not hinder the transportation of Ukrainian grain, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine from the Servant of the People Party, special representative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Constitutional Court, Fedir Venislavskyi, told Report.

According to him, even Moscow's suspension of its participation in the Grain Deal cannot be a reason for preventing the implementation of this agreement:

"The government of Ukraine will negotiate with various countries to ensure the safety of civilian ships leaving Odesa for the ports in Turkiye. I believe that, in this sense, one of the options is to accompany civilian ships with military ships of our partners. They will ensure the safety of vessels. It is not possible to transport this volume of grain by alternative routes, as the capacity of railways is limited. Therefore, many times less grain can be transported by rail. Consequently, we will do everything in our power to prevent Russia from hindering grain transportation for countries where hungry and needy people live."

Venislavsky believes that Russia's suspension of its participation in the Grain Deal can be considered blackmailing:

"So, first of all, they want to sell the grain they stole on the territory of Ukraine and finance their armed forces with the proceeds. On the other hand, it means blackmailing the world - all our partners. The aim is to put pressure on Ukraine. Russia realizes that it cannot succeed on the battlefield. Therefore, they are trying to use it as political blackmail at the international level."

According to him, these steps of Russia affect people living in many countries and facing hunger.

On July 22, a package of documents was signed in Istanbul to solve the problem of supplying food and fertilizers to world markets. One of the agreements regulates the procedure for exporting grain from Black Sea ports controlled by Kyiv. The Joint Coordination Center, established by Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and the UN and located in Istanbul, is designed to check grain-carrying ships to prevent arms smuggling and to rule out sabotage. Russia left the deal on October 29.