The Ukrainian government has sent out strong warnings to Russia against provocations even as the ongoing war rages on.Β
This is as the two countries signed a deal with the United Nations and Turkey on Friday to facilitate the export of grain.
The deal signed in Istanbul and mediated by Turkey and the UN would allow 5 million tonnes of grain exports per month from three Ukrainian ports, a senior UN official told CNN.
Ships carrying grains will now be able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea and then pass through the Bosphorus to reach global markets.
The vessels will be monitored by a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which will be established immediately in Istanbul and include representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN.
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Among other things, vessels would be inspected before they arrive in Ukraine by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, and UN officials to ensure they are not carrying weapons.
Issuing the warning, the adviser to the Ukrainian Presidentβs Chief of Staff, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted on Friday, ‘No transport-escort by Russian ships and no presence of Russian representatives in our ports’.
‘In case of provocations, an immediate military response.’
Podolyak also added that his country was not signing an agreement with Russia, but with Turkey and the UN.
He also said inspections of ships would be carried out in Ukrainian waters by joint groups, if necessary.
Following numerous rounds of painstaking discussions, Russian and Ukrainian teams signed individual agreements with Ankara and the UN as their first significant accord following nearly five months of combat.
Ukraine declined to sign the same documents as Moscow because it had warned before the signing that any Russian “provocations” around its ringed Black Sea ports would be greeted with a fast military reaction.
