KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for Ukraine to have more air defences to safeguard its grain export routes and the regions bordering Russia at an international summit on food security in Kyiv. Zelenskiy addressed the Grain from Ukraine summit, attended by senior officials from European countries, including Swiss President Alain Berset and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, where he spoke about the need for more air defence in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy’s comments came after Russia’s attack on Ukraine with 75 drones, the largest drone assault of the war. The joint press conference of the three leaders was cut short by another air raid siren. Ukraine plans to be supplied with vessels from foreign partners to accompany convoys of cargo ships from Ukraine’s ports, ensuring their security.
Zelenskiy mentioned that his country is in discussions with several nations to provide powerful accompaniment for the convoys, using foreign equipment. He also expressed hope that Ukraine’s air defence shortage will be addressed through new supplies from partners and by increasing its own production capacity, noting that there has been progress in this regard.
He emphasized that Ukraine, a major exporter of grain, has been exporting grain through unilateral corridors via the Black Sea, as Russia withdrew from a UN-brokered deal to allow grain ships through its blockade in July. The current Black Sea grain export corridors start from ports in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa.
Zelenskiy also mentioned the shortage of air defence systems and the importance of addressing this issue in the region through new supplies. He addressed the protests by Polish and Slovak truckers, which have disrupted Ukraine’s road-based cargo supply, attributing the problem to the internal politics of those countries.
He expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved once Ukraine’s neighbors have had time to address the dispute. (Reporting by Max Hunder)
