4 more grain ships leave Ukrainian port: Türkiye

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Four more ships left Ukrainian ports under the July 22 Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Two ships departed from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, while others from Odesa and Yuzhny ports, the ministry said on Twitter.

It added that a ship coming from Ukraine and five others going to Ukraine will also be inspected in the north of Istanbul.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal last month to resume grain exports from the Ukrainian Black Sea ports of Yuzhny, Chornomorsk, and Odesa, which were halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its sixth month.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Saturday that as many as 51 ships sailed following the deal, 27 of of them departed from Ukraine.