Ukraine's grain ship is to arrive at Istanbul port, Turkey on August 7, 2022 (Photo: THX/VNA)

Ships exporting Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea will be protected by a 10 nautical mile buffer zone, according to the procedures seen by Reuters.

The UN and Turkey brokered the agreement last month to unblock grain supplies after warnings that the halt in shipments caused by Russia’s military operation in Ukraine was stoking severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.

Since then, a number of grain shipments – mainly onboard vessels that were stuck in Ukraine since Moscow’s military operation in February – have left in test voyages.