© Reuters. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Swiss President Alain Berset, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte attend a global summit on meals safety ‘Grain from Ukraine’, amid Russia’s ongoing assault on
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By Max Hunder
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine wants extra air defences to guard its grain export routes in addition to areas bordering Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned on Saturday, as he addressed a global summit on meals safety in Kyiv.
“There is a deficit of air defence – that is no secret,” Zelenskiy advised the Grain from Ukraine summit, which was attended by senior officers from European international locations, together with Swiss President Alain Berset and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.
Zelenskiy was talking after Russia attacked Ukraine with 75 drones in a single day, the most important drone assault of the battle. The joint press convention of the three leaders was reduce brief by one other air raid siren.
Zelenskiy mentioned Ukraine could be equipped by its international companions with vessels to accompany convoys of cargo ships from Ukraine’s ports to ensure their safety.
“I have agreements with several countries about powerful accompaniment of convoys by Ukrainians, but using (foreign) equipment,” he mentioned.
Individually, European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen pledged help in a letter to Zelenskiy that she shared on social media platform X, saying the Fee would make out there 50 million euros for “quick repairs and upgrades of infrastructure in Ukraine’s ports.”
The Ukrainian president mentioned Kyiv hoped to unravel its air defence scarcity by way of new provides from companions and growing its personal manufacturing capability, one thing on which he mentioned there had been progress.
“As of today, I can’t say details what we are making and where, but there is progress,” he mentioned.
Ukraine, a significant exporter of grain, has been exporting grain by way of unilateral corridors by way of the Black sea, after Russia withdrew in July from a UN-brokered deal to permit grain ships by way of its blockade.
Ukraine’s present Black sea grain export corridors all begin from ports in Ukraine’s southern area of Odesa.
“There are certain air defence systems… we are asking for them,” Zelenskiy mentioned. “We’ve already got an answer when those systems will start to guard that region. Because there, both the corridor and the people are important.”
Requested in regards to the protests by Polish and Slovak truckers which have blocked a lot of Ukraine’s road-based cargo provide in latest days, Zelenskiy blamed the issue on the inner politics of these international locations.
“I believe that there are difficulties on the border first and foremost because of certain political steps by our neighbours,” he advised a press convention after the summit.
Zelenskiy mentioned he was assured the difficulty could be solved if Ukraine’s neighbours got “a bit of time” to take care of the dispute.
