Grain ship to dock in Ukraine before setting sail for Ethiopia

Storks walk in front of harvesters in a wheat field in the village of Zghurivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. Before the war, Ukraine was seen as the world's bread basket, exporting 4.5 million tons of agricultural produce a month through its ports. [AP]

Thrown between hope and despair, expectations were raised Friday that the first UN grain transport ship could soon be leaving Ukraine for Africa while more Russian shelling struck the east of the country.

Closing in on the half-year mark, the war has sent food prices sky-high and left poorer countries with ever less hope they would be getting supplies from the breadbasket of Europe.