00:00 Last month, Russia withdrew from a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain and has since
00:04 targeted Kiev's grain infrastructure.
00:07 And Moscow has threatened to also attack Ukrainian ships that set off from ports in the south.
00:13 And for more on this, I'm joined by our international affairs editor, Philip Turrell.
00:16 Philip, good to see you.
00:18 So a Ukrainian container ship set off from Odessa this Wednesday to test that threat.
00:23 When we talk about this word test, what exactly do we mean?
00:27 OK, well, just a reminder that the Black Sea grain deal, which was signed a year ago, is
00:32 now no longer in effect due to the fact that Russia withdrew from it last month.
00:38 Forty seven million people have been affected by the war in Ukraine around the world and
00:43 as a result of the fall in the supplies of grain being exported from Ukraine.
00:50 That was the figure for last year.
00:52 Since the war started, that was obviously a much better figure when the Black Sea deal
00:57 was signed.
00:59 Now that Russia's pulled out, Ukraine is left with all this grain that it needs to export.
01:03 And Russia is always threatening to attack the ships because it doesn't know if those
01:06 ships are carrying military hardware or not, or weapons or supporting the war effort on
01:13 Ukraine's side.
01:14 So what Ukraine has said this time round is, well, there's this Hong Kong registered ship,
01:19 which is called the Joseph Schulte, which has been in the port of Odessa in southwestern
01:24 Ukraine since February last year, just the day before the war broke out.
01:28 And they're going to test it to see if the ship can get past the Russian threat in the
01:35 Black Sea and down through the Bosporus Strait to export that grain, that much needed grain
01:42 which is needed by many countries around the world.
01:46 What Ukraine is saying is that this ship is going to be given full clearance from us and
01:51 all the necessary documents and paperwork will show that it has no military threat and
01:56 therefore Russia has no reason to attack it.
01:58 It's stacking the pressure on Russia for two reasons.
02:02 First of all, that Russia knows that Ukraine is like the bread basket of Europe and has
02:07 to export that grain to support countries around the world.
02:10 And there is also pressure on Russia to do that because even if some countries support
02:15 the war effort, they know that the fall in the supply of grain to countries around the
02:20 world from Ukraine will cause famine and hardship.
02:24 And they want that to be avoided at all costs.
02:27 So that is, I think, what Ukraine is playing at here.
02:30 Let's get that grain out and see whether Russia is going to attack that ship or not.
02:33 Yeah.
02:34 So we'll be watching that closely.
02:36 In the meantime, Ukraine has recaptured a village in the south of the country.
02:40 How significant is this?
02:42 Well, it's a small advance for Ukrainian forces.
02:47 Remember, this counteroffensive has been dragging on for quite a while now and has not produced
02:52 the fruits that many thought were going to be produced once it started.
02:57 No one, I think, was expecting a rapid recapturing of all the territories that Russia has taken
03:02 since the start of the war.
03:04 But Ukraine does need some kind of good news to bolster its forces and its morale.
03:09 So the fact that this town, Urozhain, has been captured in the southeast of the country
03:16 is good for several reasons.
03:19 First of all, psychologically, it's good news for the Ukrainian forces.
03:24 Ukraine has pushed back the Russians, which shows a certain disarray amongst the way the
03:28 Russian forces are organized in the region.
03:31 They can say, well, look, we're not advancing quickly, but we're advancing slowly but surely
03:37 and we are progressing.
03:38 So that is good news for Ukraine.
03:42 And there is another aspect, which I think is also important to underline, is that the
03:46 capture of a town like this, which may seem small and insignificant, even if it's only
03:51 a few kilometers, will force the Russians into some kind of dilemma because they then
03:56 have to decide, well, this is on the road to Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine.
04:01 It also could open up a front further east towards Donetsk.
04:05 What are the Ukrainians going to do after that?
04:07 Does that mean we have to be very careful about which roads we are going to protect?
04:11 Will we have to pull forces from other areas of Ukraine to try to stop another advance
04:17 by Ukrainian forces?
04:18 So I think it's also putting the pressure on Russian troops, putting them in a dilemma
04:23 about what to do.
04:25 And that is, I think, part of the strategy of Ukraine right now.
04:28 They've advanced by about 12 kilometers in the past two months.
04:32 It doesn't appear to be much, but in Ukraine's eyes, this is still proof that we are still
04:37 advancing and it's not Russia which is pushing us the other way so far.
04:40 Okay.
04:41 International Affairs Editor Philip Churl.
04:43 Philip, thanks as always.
