Inspections of Ukrainian grain ships halved since October

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain and other food exports have slowed to half their peak rate under a U.N.-brokered wartime agreement. That’s created backlogs in vessels meant to carry supplies to developing nations where people are going hungry. Some U.S. and Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of deliberately slowing down inspections, which a Russian official denied. According to figures that the operation’s Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul provided to The Associated Press, average daily inspections of ships both heading to and leaving Ukraine hit a peak rate of 10.6 in October. Since then, it’s been downhill, with 5.3 so far in January.