Mined Ports, Red Tape and Russia Risk Stop Ukraine Grain
- Lithuania says clearing mines around Ukraine ports is tricky
- President says in interview another option remains rail route
Silos at a grain terminal at the Port of Mariupol in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Jan. 13, 2022.
Photographer: Christopher Occhicone/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Resuming Ukrainian grain shipments will be time consuming given challenges that include mine-clearing in Black Sea ports and the need for cooperation from the very country that kicked off the war, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.
Nauseda is among a small group of European leaders pushing for naval escorts for vessels shipping Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia has effectively blockaded Ukrainian ports with its invasion, including a three-month siege of the largely-destroyed city of Mariupol, leaving the government in Kyiv struggling to export grain and sending prices to near-record highs.