Keith Good

Reuters writer Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday he was hopeful that the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday, but ‘crucial’ details for the safe passage of vessels were still being worked out.”

Bloomberg writers Megan Durisin and Archie Hunter reported earlier this week that, “Now that Ukraine’s grain-export deal has been signed, all eyes are on clearing a major obstacle: freeing the scores of ships stuck there since February.”

Financial Times writers Mark Raczkiewycz and Polina Ivanova reported yesterday that, “Ukraine hopes to start implementing a deal to export millions of tonnes of grain from blockaded Black Sea ports as soon as this week, even after Russian missile strikes hit the key Ukrainian port city of Odesa and threatened to unravel the agreement.”

Ellen Francis, Kareem Fahim and Claire Parker reported on the front page of Sunday’s Washington Post that, “Russian missiles hit the Black Sea port of Odessa on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, imperiling a deal Moscow and Kyiv reached a day earlier to allow shipment of millions of tons of trapped grain and ease a global food crisis.”

Reuters writers Ezgi Erkoyun, Ece Toksabay and Max Hunder reported on Friday that, “Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on Friday to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased.”

Jared Malsin, William Mauldin and Alistair MacDonald reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Officials from Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations planned to sign a deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea on Friday, Turkish and U.N. officials said, in an announcement that raised hopes of freeing food supplies trapped by the Russian invasion.”

Financial Times writers Max Seddon and Laura Pitel reported yesterday that, “Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for a summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts that will have crucial implications for his military campaign in Ukraine.”

Reuters writers Tuvan Gumrukcu, Yesim Dikmen, Orhan Coskun and Michelle Nichols reported yesterday that, “Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will most likely meet this week to discuss resuming Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports, Ankara said on Monday, while a Turkish official said lingering ‘small problems’ should be overcome.”

Late last week, Bloomberg writer Aine Quinn reported that, “The Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea is shipping more than 50 times the volume of food it usually does at this time of year, likely indicating that seized Ukrainian grain is being taken abroad, according to analysts and the Kyiv School of Economics.”

Jared Malsin, Alistair MacDonald and Stephen Kalin reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations agreed on key aspects of a plan to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, senior Turkish and U.N. leaders said.”

New York Times writer Matina Stevis-Gridneff reported today that, “Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Istanbul, in the increasingly desperate effort to release huge amounts of grain from Ukraine’s ports and ship it to a world facing rising hunger.”

Reuters writer Max Hunder reported yesterday that, “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had held talks with Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the need to unblock Ukraine’s ports and resume its grain exports.”

Gabriele Steinhauser reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “The worst hunger emergency in a half-century is afflicting Somalia and some of the world’s other poorest countries, where the effects of drawn-out conflicts and increasingly extreme weather are being exacerbated by the economic disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.”

Reuters News reported today that, “World food prices fell for a third consecutive month in June, but remained close to record high levels set in March, the United Nations’ food agency said on Friday.”

Bloomberg writer Volodymyr Verbyany reported yesterday that, “Ukraine’s top diplomat cast doubt on a near-term breakthrough in talks to unblock crop exports from the war-ravaged nation’s Black Sea ports, as fears of a global hunger crisis intensify.”

Reuters writer Ronald Popeski reported yesterday that, “Ukraine is holding talks with Turkey and the United Nations to secure guarantees for grain exports from Ukrainian ports, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.”

Yusuf Khan and Will Horner reported in today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Fine farm weather and a rush of Russian grain ships through the Black Sea have taken the sting out of global wheat prices, a welcome sign for vulnerable countries struggling with surging food costs.”

Bloomberg writers Kim Chipman, Eleanor Song, and Tarso Veloso Ribeiro reported yesterday that, “Global grain markets are at a pivot point, with prices finally starting to ease after a dizzying surge earlier this year.”