Ukraine’s Zelenskiy: We need reliable defence for grain corridor

(Reuters) – The corridor for exporting grain from Ukrainian ports needs a long-term means to defend it reliably and the world must provide a firm response to any Russian attempt to disrupt it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

Zelenskiy said ships were moving out of Ukrainian ports with cargoes thanks to efforts by Turkey and the United Nations to keep the corridor open and working.

“But a reliable and long-term defence is needed for the grain corridor,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

“Russia must clearly be made aware that it will receive a tough response from the world to any steps to disrupt our food exports. At issue here clearly are the lives of tens of millions of people.”

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Elaine Monaghan; Editing by Leslie Adler)