Ukraine is discussing a proposal with Turkey, Egypt and India to restore civilian shipping in the Black Sea, with agricultural exports a particular priority, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The talks aim to reopen a maritime outlet for Ukrainian food supplies after Russian attacks disrupted access to the country’s principal export route, according to a Bloomberg report published by gCaptain.
Zelenskyy told Bloomberg that the three countries had proposed arrangements to protect vessels sailing under their flags while carrying food from both Ukrainian and Russian ports. Under the approach he described, ships would travel to ports in each country with reciprocal commitments that neither vessel would be attacked. He said Russia remained opposed to the proposal despite repeated approaches by Turkish, Indian and Egyptian intermediaries.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports normally handle the largest share of its food exports. The report said grain shipments through those ports had been halted since August amid Russian air attacks on vessels and port infrastructure. Zelenskyy said rail transport could not accommodate the volume that would otherwise move by sea, highlighting the limits of replacing maritime shipments with overland routes.
Kyiv has also asked the European Union to revive its solidarity lanes programme, Zelenskyy said. The arrangement enabled Ukrainian grain to move through European rail networks and ports early in Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine is seeking its reinstatement to facilitate exports while the Black Sea route remains disrupted, alongside its diplomatic effort to secure protected passage for ships.
According to Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry, cited in the report, the country can currently export only 38% of its usual volumes. The report said heavy strikes on civilian port infrastructure followed Ukrainian attacks last summer on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which largely carries sanctioned oil and fuel products. The damage to maritime export access has left Kyiv pursuing both a negotiated shipping arrangement and renewed use of European transport routes.