Cargo ship exits Ukraine port despite threat from Russian navy

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00:00 to our Kyiv correspondent, Emmanuelle Chaz.

00:03 So, Emmanuelle, let's start off with this cargo ship in the Black Sea.

00:06 What's the latest there?

00:08 Well, this is the first cargo ship to depart the Ukrainian port,

00:15 the port of Odessa, since last week's Ukraine's announcement

00:21 that it would open a temporary corridor in the Black Sea

00:25 in a bid to unblock the situation, to send some of those ships

00:31 willing to sail with cargo on board to other ports.

00:36 And this ship has left the port of Odessa this morning

00:41 with 30,000 tons of goods, of also cereals, Ukrainian cereals.

00:47 It was blocked in Odessa port for 17 months.

00:51 It bears a flag from Hong Kong.

00:56 And as you mentioned, it is sailing now in the Black Sea

01:01 and there remains to be seen which response Russia will give,

01:06 knowing that yesterday it stopped, it halted a ship that was sailing

01:13 towards Ukraine because Moscow warned that any ship outgoing

01:19 or incoming from Ukrainian ports might be considered a threat.

01:24 And this comes nearly a month after Russia decided not to renew

01:29 the Black Sea agreement on cereals and nearly a month after Russia

01:33 started to heavily shell Ukrainian port infrastructures

01:37 in the south of the country.

01:38 The latest of this attack happening last night with at least 13 drones

01:43 sent against port infrastructures and damaging grain depots

01:48 in Leningrad and Ismail ports in the south of Ukraine.

01:51 So meanwhile, Kiev is pushing forward with its counteroffensive,

01:55 Emmanuelle, and it's made some progress retaking a village

01:58 in the Donetsk region.

01:59 What else do we know about that?

02:01 Yes, this morning the Ministry of Defense announced having liberated

02:09 the village of Urozhaini.

02:11 This is not far from Staromayovsky, another village that had been liberated

02:15 a few weeks ago.

02:16 And this comes a day after the Ukrainian forces have been set

02:22 to liberate three square kilometers of land, also near Bahramut.

02:29 So those are small advances, but significant advances because

02:33 they are made on very, very difficult territory.

02:36 We know that the Russian forces had time for a year and a half

02:40 to really fortify their defenses.

02:43 The region is heavily mined, so any advance, of course,

02:47 is a victory for Kiev.

02:49 And the Defense Ministry said that now its forces in Urozhaini

02:55 are entrenched in the positions taken and are looking to go forward

03:00 with the counteroffensive.

03:02 Okay, our Kiev correspondent, Emmanuelle Chas.

03:04 Emmanuelle, thanks as always.

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