Ukraine, British insurers agree on war risk insurance ‘mechanism’ for exports
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Russia's invasion has limited Ukraine's ability to ship goods via its Black Sea ports.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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KYIV - Ukraine has agreed a “special mechanism” with Britain and a group of British insurance companies to offer discounted war insurance on the country’s exports, said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, but its exports have been hampered since Russia invaded in February 2022, limiting its ability to ship goods via its Black Sea ports.
Mr Shmygal said on Tuesday that Ukraine and a group of unnamed British insurance firms had created a mechanism for a “discount on the cost of war risk insurance for exporters of all products from Ukraine”.
He did not provide further details on how the mechanism would work or the level of the discount, but said it would make shipments via the Black Sea “more accessible to a wider range of exporters”.
Since Moscow pulled out of a United Nations-brokered deal guaranteeing safe passage for Ukraine’s agricultural exports in July, both Kyiv and Moscow have ramped up military activity in the Black Sea.
Ukraine subsequently launched a new “humanitarian corridor” – a sea route for civilian ships that avoids international waters.
Last week, a Russian strike on a vessel entering the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region
According to the UN, there have been more than 30 strikes on Ukraine’s port facilities since the Black Sea grain initiative collapsed. AFP
