ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian experts on Wednesday inspected the ship carrying the first shipment of grain exported by Ukraine since the Russian invasion on April 24, before the "Razoni" continued its way from Turkey towards Lebanon .

The "Razoni" search took about an hour and a half, according to AFP correspondents. Then the ship continued on its way, passing the northern entrance to the Bosphorus in the early afternoon.

This measure marked the end of a "trial phase" of the mechanisms for implementing the international agreement concluded in July in Istanbul to contain the global food crisis, according to the Joint Coordination Center secretariat.

The Secretariat revealed that "the inspection team was able to communicate with the ship's crew and inquire about the approved route in the open humanitarian sea corridor in the Black Sea," noting that "it is assumed that millions of tons of wheat, corn and other grains will continue to be exported from three Ukrainian ports."

The cargo ship "Razoni", flying the flag of Sierra Leone, appeared at the northern shores of Istanbul on the Black Sea on Tuesday, the day after it left the Ukrainian port of Odessa, heading to Tripoli in Lebanon, carrying 26,000 tons of corn.

A team of about 20 experts and UN delegates in orange life jackets and helmets was led by Turkish Admiral Ozkan Altunbulak, head of the Joint Coordination Center that oversees exports, and retired US Navy Admiral Fred Kenney.

The ship was searched at the request of Russia, which wants to ascertain the nature of the cargo.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that another 16 ships loaded with grain were "waiting for their turn" to leave the main Black Sea port of Odessa, which before the war secured 60 percent of port activity in the country.

The agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine on July 22, mediated by Turkey and under the auspices of the United Nations, allows for the resumption of shipments to global markets of Ukrainian grain, which have been suspended since the Russian invasion.

The document specifically provides for the establishment of safe corridors to allow commercial ships to sail in the Black Sea and export between twenty and 25 million tons of grain.

"Let's hope that all parties will implement the agreements and that the mechanisms will work effectively," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

A similar agreement was signed guaranteeing Russia at the same time the export of its agricultural products and fertilizers, despite Western sanctions.

The two agreements are supposed to help alleviate the global food crisis caused by high food prices in some of the world's poorest countries.

On the ground, the Russian army bombed the city of Chuguyev in northeastern Ukraine, killing one person and wounding two, according to what was announced on "Facebook" by Sergey Polvinov, an official in the Kharkiv region police. He clarified that the person who was killed and one of the two injured were "Russian citizens".

Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine and close to the Russian border, was hit by two strikes on Tuesday night, launched from Russian territory, according to local authorities.

And the Russian army confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that "high-precision missiles" had destroyed in the Lviv region (west), "a foreign weapons and ammunition depot that was delivered to the Kiev regime from Poland."

According to preliminary information, they are two S-300 missiles launched from the Russian border region of Belgorod. One fell to the ground, while another hit a civilian facility without causing any casualties, according to what was revealed by the region's governor, Aleg Sinigubov, on "Telegram".

And last June, Moscow confirmed the destruction of an arms depot handed over to NATO in western Ukraine, an area rarely hit by Russian strikes.

And the southern city of Mykolaiv was bombed again at night, according to what the region's governor, Vitaly Kim, revealed via "Telegram", noting that a pharmacy and a large store were destroyed, and a horse riding school was damaged.

The mayor, Oleksandr Senkevich, reported on the Telegram application that "strong explosions" were heard around 5 am.

And in the Donbass basin, in eastern Ukraine, the governor of the Donetsk region, which is at the heart of the fighting, reported on Wednesday that four civilians had been killed in the last 24 hours.

But Ukraine, which is currently leading a counter-attack in the south, announced on Tuesday that it had recaptured more than 53 towns in the Kherson region, the first major city that fell under the control of the Russian army on March 3.

Artillery is a crucial factor in the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian armies, which need large quantities of various types of missiles, are waging a war of attrition at the level of ammunition.

The United States, the major supporter of Ukraine, announced that it would send new weapons to Kiev worth $550 million, bringing its military assistance to more than eight billion dollars. This aid will include ammunition for HIMARS missile platforms and 75,000 155 mm shells.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Russia of being responsible for obstructing the delivery of a turbine currently in Germany, without which the Nord Stream gas pipeline cannot operate normally, Moscow says.

Westerners accuse Moscow of using gas as a political weapon in response to the sanctions imposed after the attack on Ukraine.