European Railways to Help Ukraine with Grain Export

Due to Russia's blockade, European railways want to increase their assistance to Ukraine to facilitate grain export.

About 30 railway bosses plan to sign the "Ukrainian Declaration" in Vienna on Saturday to seal aid to Ukraine, reports Spiegel.

Among other things, the document stipulates that new terminals and trans-shipment points would have to be built to better export the grain by rail.

According to Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz, even if the war ends quickly, it will probably take longer before the sea route is fully usable again because of the mines.

Lutz also noted that Kyiv is working on bringing its railway track in line with the European one, which is narrower. "This is another signal that Ukraine is moving towards the European family at full speed," he believes.

Ukraine has to export about 22 million tons of grain, while the railway allows it to export about 800 thousand tons per month.

Previously, the former deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Senik, said that in the conditions of the sea blockade of Russia, Ukraine had established two grain export channels - across Poland and Romania. It is also negotiating with the Baltic states.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky recently confirmed Ukraine is negotiating with Turkey and the UN regarding the export of Ukrainian grain by sea.