Macron and Zelensky speak on the phone after the departure of the first ship loaded with grain from Odessa

Aug. 1 () –

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski, held a one-hour telephone conversation on Monday before the departure of the first ship loaded with grain from the Ukrainian port of Odessa.

“The interlocutors welcomed the initiative on the transport of Ukrainian grain and emphasized the need for its unswerving implementation. The practicalities of increasing the export of Ukrainian grain by other logistical routes were also discussed,” the Presidency said in a statement. ukrainian

The first ship loaded with grain has left this Monday from the Ukrainian port of Odessa (south) since the start of the war in Ukraine. The ship began its journey at 8:30 a.m. to the Lebanese port of Tripoli, from where it will go to Istanbul on Tuesday.

The agreement between kyiv and Moscow went ahead after the parties agreed to a plan sponsored by the United Nations Organization (UN) to form a coordination center in the city of Istanbul with the aim of carrying out joint inspections in the entrances and exits of the ports and guarantee the security of the routes.

The deal states that a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN personnel will oversee the loading of grain onto ships in the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chernomosk and Pivdenyi, before sailing a pre-planned route through the Black Sea.

This is the first exchange between the two leaders since June 16, when Emmanuel Macron visited kyiv for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine. On that occasion, France reaffirmed its military support and announced the shipment of new Caesar guns to the country.

46 TOWNS IN KHERSON “RECOVERED”, ACCORDING TO kyiv

On the other hand, Ukrainian forces have “recaptured” 46 towns in the strategic southern region of Kherson as part of their counteroffensive, local governor Dimitro Butri reported on Monday, as reported by the Ukrinform news agency.

“In Kherson Oblast, 46 settlements have already been vacated. In fact, there are villages that have practically been destroyed by 90 percent; they are under constant shelling. Most of the population has left there,” he said.

Within the framework of military operations on Ukrainian territory, the President of Ukraine pointed out, during his call with Macron, that “the cynical destruction planned by Russia of the Ukrainian military forces” can be verified by what happened in a bombing raid on a prison in Elenovka, Donetsk.

“The president (Volodimir Zelensky) thanks France for the determined prosecution of this crime against humanity and for its willingness to help bring the guilty to justice,” he stressed in a statement.