Kiev ( Ukraine ) - (AFP) - Ukraine announced Monday that it expects to export the first shipments of grain "this week" in accordance with the agreement signed with Moscow, despite the Russian bombing that targeted Saturday the port of Odessa, which is considered pivotal in sending shipments.

"We expect work on the agreement to begin in the next few days, and we expect a coordination center to be established in Istanbul in the next few days. We are preparing everything to start this week," Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told a press conference.

He pointed out that the main obstacle to the export of grain is the dangers of Russian bombing, especially after the strike that targeted the port of Odessa on the Black Sea on Saturday, which is considered pivotal for the shipment of grain.

Kubrakov called on Turkey and the United Nations, the guarantors of the agreement, to secure the Ukrainian shipments, warning that "if the parties do not guarantee security, it will not work."

What also impedes the export of grain is the presence of naval mines laid by Ukrainian forces to prevent Russia from carrying out a landing operation on its coast. The minister said that the mines would only be cleared "in the corridor necessary for export operations."

He added that Ukrainian ships would accompany the shipments, which could also transport fertilizers as well as grain.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yuri Vaskov stated that the port of Chornomorsk (southwest) will be the first port from which shipments will be launched, followed by the port of Odessa (south), then the port of Pevdenye (southwest).

"During the next two weeks, we will be technically ready to export shipments of grain from all Ukrainian ports," he said.

Ukraine's grain exports are essential to global food security, and 25 million tons of them have been stuck in the country since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.