Ukraine said Monday that it had exported around 7 million tons of cargo through the Black Sea despite Russia’s blockade — a more than fivefold increase in just over a month.
“Two hundred vessels exported 7 million tons of cargo,” Ukraine’s reconstruction ministry said in a post on Telegram.
The cargo included “almost 5 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products.”
The ministry said 31 vessels were currently loading at three Ukrainian ports and another 30 vessels were sailing through the corridor in both directions.
It had said on Oct. 27 that Ukraine had exported 1.3 million tons of cargo through the corridor since August, suggesting there had been a sharp increase in the month of November.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also hailed the achievement, saying on X: “Our grain corridor keeps working and has reached the 7 million ton mark.”
Ukraine created the corridor to the Bosphorus after Russia refused to renew a deal that had allowed Kyiv to safely export its grain to world markets.
Russia has since threatened to target ships leaving or arriving at ports controlled by Kyiv while also hitting Ukrainian port and grain facilities in August and September.
Kyiv said the campaign aimed to block its exports, though Moscow claimed it only hit military targets.
Almost 33 million tons of Ukrainian food products were exported under the previous grain agreement. Russia’s withdrawal worried African, South American and Asian countries dependent on Kyiv’s exports.
