Ukraine is in discussions with Turkey, India and Egypt over a proposed arrangement to restore safe commercial shipping through the Black Sea, as Russian attacks have reduced the country’s grain export capacity to just 38 per cent of normal levels, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Bloomberg.
The proposal envisages vessels flying the flags of the three countries being allowed to call at both Ukrainian and Russian ports to transport food commodities, under a mutual understanding that neither side would attack the ships. However, Russia has rejected the proposal, and no agreement has been reached, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are critical to its agricultural exports, with the capacity to handle up to 40 million tonnes of grain during a typical marketing season. Shipments have been severely disrupted since August following Russian air attacks on port infrastructure and commercial vessels, further restricting Ukraine’s access to international grain markets.
According to Zelenskyy, Turkey, India and Egypt have repeatedly approached Moscow to support the proposed mechanism. The arrangement would allow one vessel to call at a Ukrainian port and another at a Russian port, with both sides providing assurances against attacks on the designated ships.
The diplomatic initiative comes amid escalating attacks on maritime infrastructure following Ukrainian strikes earlier in the summer against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which transports sanctioned oil and fuel products. Subsequent Russian bombardments have intensified pressure on Ukraine’s civilian port facilities and commercial shipping operations.
Ukraine is also seeking the European Union’s support to reinstate the “solidarity lanes” established after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. These rail and land-based routes have helped sustain Ukrainian exports, but Kyiv maintains that they cannot compensate for the volumes normally transported through its Black Sea ports.
“We cannot manage this volume of shipments by rail,” Zelenskyy said, highlighting the importance of restoring maritime access to global markets.
Turkey, India and Egypt are significant participants in international grain trade, with commercial interests linked to both Ukrainian and Russian agricultural exports. Their proposed role reflects an effort to use countries with substantial food-trade interests to facilitate a limited arrangement for protecting commercial vessels.
For Ukraine, reopening the Black Sea route would help restore agricultural export revenues and strengthen its position in global food markets. For Russia, however, accepting the proposal would require allowing food shipments to resume from Ukrainian ports despite the continuing conflict.
As of Zelenskyy’s latest remarks, Moscow had not accepted the proposed mechanism, leaving the future of large-scale Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea uncertain.