Volodymyr Zelensky made the statement in a nightly video address to the nation after the deal was terminated by Russia on Monday, The Kyiv Independent website reported.
Zelensky told Ukrainians on Monday night: “Everyone has a right to stability … Africa has the right to stability. Asia has the right to stability. Europe has every right to stability. And therefore, we must all care about security – about protection from Russian madness.”
The Ukrainian president added: “And the Black Sea Grain Initiative can and should keep operating – if without Russia, then without Russia. The agreement on the export of grain – this is an agreement with Turkey and the United Nations – remains valid. The only thing that is needed now is its careful implementation – and decisive pressure from the world on the terrorist state.”
Zelensky proposed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that Ukraine, the UN and Turkey ensure the operation of the shipping corridor in a trilateral format, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine’s president said in his nightly address that “almost 33 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported to 45 countries” after the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in the summer of 2022.
He added: “Sixty percent of the volumes went to the countries of Africa and Asia, in particular, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan ... They also were sent to China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen.”
Zelensky stated: ”Our food export allows saving lives in the countries, as I said, like Yemen and Somalia.”
Kerch Bridge attack causes logistics problems for Russia: official
Meanwhile, Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, said that Monday’s attack on the Kerch Bridge to Crimea caused “a lot of logistical problems for Russia.”
In an interview with Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, Terekhov stated that the bridge represented a legitimate military target for Ukraine.
He said: “This will cause a lot of logistical problems for Russia. It shows the Kremlin is weak. The task of Ukraine and its allies is to make Moscow even weaker.”
The attack on the bridge closed the only land link between the occupied Crimean peninsula and the Russian mainland, The Guardian reported.
Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the strike, Time magazine reported.
However, Ukrainian Security Service spokesman Artem Degtyarenko said in a statement that his agency would reveal details of how the “bang” was organised after Ukraine wins the war, according to Time.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 510 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian, Ukrainska Pravda, president.gov.ua, TIME