Zelenskyy visits port as Ukraine prepares to ship out grain

By INNA VARENYTSIA
Associated Press

ODESA, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited a Black Sea port to watch crews prepare to export grain trapped by Russia’s five-month-old war. Zelenskyy said Friday that the first ship has been loaded since the war but others that have been stuck with their cargoes of grain would be the first to leave. The work to resume exports is inching forward a week after a deal was struck to allow critical food supplies to flow to millions of impoverished people facing hunger worldwide. A Russian missile strike on Odesa hours after signing the deal has thrown Moscow’s commitment into question and raised concerns about the safety of shipping crews, who also have to navigate waters strewn with explosive mines.