Ukraine lawmaker says ship leaves port in Odesa

In response, Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Four vessels stuck in Ukrainian ports during the invasion have thus far been able to use the corridor to leave.

A ship has left port in Ukraine's Odesa, lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on Friday, posting photographs on the Telegram messaging app of the vessel in the water, though Reuters could not immediately verify the date or location.

"A few minutes ago, the Cayman Islands-flagged Puma vessel left the port of Odesa into the Black Sea," Honcharenko said on Telegram. LSEG interactive map data showed the Puma had departed Odesa and was about 25 km from shore and underway just before 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).

If the Puma successfully leaves Odesa, it would be the fifth to do so since Moscow withdrew from the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export deal in July and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets. In response, Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.

Four vessels stuck in Ukrainian ports during the invasion have thus far been able to use the corridor to leave. Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports after invading its neighbour in February 2022.

 

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