The blockade ended at 10:30 p.m. local time. Truck traffic in both directions is now moving as usual, according to Ukraine's State Border Guard's statement.
Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Sunlight coming through shrapnel holes in the roof over piles of barley three days after five Russian missiles struck a grain storage facility in the village of Pavlivka, Odesa Oblast on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
Romania plans to expand its capacity for transiting Ukrainian grain as Russia's unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative blocked the sea corridor for Ukraine's exports, Bloomberg reported on July 28.
The country plans to open new border crossings and increase staff working on the transit, Romania's Foreign Minister Luminita-Teodora Odobescu told Bloomberg in an interview on July 27.
"We are in close contact with Ukraine to identify the best options to increase and speed up this transit," the minister said.
"The security situation of course is not easy, but we are very much committed to continue to help Ukraine."
According to Bloomberg, Romania has increased the capacity of the Constanta port for shipping out Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. The country has also re-opened a closed railway link with Ukraine and seeks to hire more ship pilots for transporting Ukrainian products via the Sulina branch of the Danube River, the newspaper added.
As Bloomberg noted, the country has already facilitated the transport of 20 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain, which is almost half of the produce shipped via the EU's solidarity lanes.
According to von der Leyen, more than 45 million metric tons of grain, oilseed, and other products have been exported through the solidarity lanes since they were instituted in May 2022.
Facilitating the transit of Ukrainian grain may stretch Romania's transport capacities, as the country itself is also a major grain exporter, Bloomberg commented. Bucharest was among the five EU members who asked the EU to institute a ban on the domestic sale of Ukrainian grain products in those five countries.
While the measure is currently set to expire on Sep. 15, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary said they will ask the European Commission to prolong the measure at least until the end of the year. According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the countries are nevertheless open to transiting Ukrainian grain through their territories.
Another potential obstacle are Russian attacks against Ukrainian river ports, which, according to Bloomberg, deter some of the Romanian ship crews.
On the night of July 24, Russian forceslaunched Shahed-136 drones at the Danube River ports of Izmail and Reni, located in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. The ports are only 200 meters from the Romanian border.
After Russia's one-sided termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, Ukraine has been seeking alternative ways of exporting its produce. Several EU countries, including Bulgaria and Croatia, suggested using their transport infrastructure to support Ukrainian exports.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Anastasiia Lapatina
