There was no plan to move vessels under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on Wednesday, UN officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
Russia announced last week that it was suspending its participation in the grain deal after accusing Ukraine of using the humanitarian grain corridor to launch strikes against its Black Sea fleet and the naval base Sevastopol. However, grain shipments in and out of Ukrainian ports continued over the past days despite the Russian announcement, and Wednesday's pause is the first one since the initiative came into effect in August.
Late on Tuesday, Ukraine's Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted that the Black Sea Grain Initiative will resume on Thursday when eight vessels loaded with agricultural products are expected to pass through the grain corridor, adding that Ukraine has got confirmation from the UN.
According to UN data released on Tuesday, the total tonnage of grains and foodstuffs moved from Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is 9,729,083 metric tons.
The UN also said that its Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative Amir Abdulla continues his discussions with all three member state parties – Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye – to resume full participation at the Joint Coordination Center following Russia's suspension of the participation.