Ukraine war: First grain ship leaves under Russia deal

The first ship carrying grain has left a Ukrainian port under a landmark deal with Russia.

Turkish and Ukrainian officials say the ship left the southern port of Odesa early on Monday morning local time.

Russia has been blockading Ukrainian ports since February, but the two sides made a deal to resume shipments.

It is hoped the agreement will ease the global food crisis and lower the price of grain.

Turkey said the Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, the Razoni, would dock at the port of Tripoli in Lebanon, adding that further shipments were planned over the coming weeks.

The Joint Co-ordination Centre, set up in Istanbul under the deal, said the ship was carrying some 26,000 tonnes of corn and was expected to arrive in Turkish waters for inspection on Tuesday.

Ukraine's Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov told the BBC the Razoni was an important test to show the deal would work, with Turkey aiding its safe navigation through dangerous waters.

"There's the question of mines," he told BBC Newshour. "There are a lot of mines - starting from World War Two, in addition to mines which appeared in the Black Sea starting from February - it provides a lot of risks," he said.

There are concerns that while ships may be able to leave Ukraine with tonnes of grain, they might not be able to get affordable insurance to return for another load.

But Mr Kubrakov said he expected to see between one and three vessels going in both directions in the next few weeks, with empty ships coming to the port of Odessa from Turkey's Bosporus Strait.

While the sight of the Razoni, with her stowed white cranes and long blue hull, inching out into the mine-infested Black Sea represents a significant development, the operation will have to last for a sustained period for either Ukraine's damaged economy or tens of millions of people around the world to benefit.