The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.
"The ship Razoni has left the port of Odesa bound for Tripoli in Lebanon. It is expected in Istanbul on 2 August. It will then continue its journey after it has been inspected in Istanbul," the Turkish defence ministry said.
Speaking about the shipment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that it was "too soon" to celebrate.
"At this time, it is too early to draw any conclusions and make any forecasts," he said in his daily video address.
"Let's wait and see how the agreement works and whether security will be really guaranteed."
The vessel was carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn, according to Ukraine's infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.
It is expected to reach the mouth of the Bosphorus tomorrow at around midday, according to Yoruk Isik, an expert on ship movements on the Bosphorus Strait and in the region.
Other convoys would follow, respecting the maritime corridor and the agreed formalities in line with the agreement reached with Russia on 22 July, Turkey said.
Built in 1996 and measuring 186 metres in length and 25 metres in width, the Razoni, which is flying under the Sierra Leone flag, has capacity of 30,000 tonnes.
On 22 July, Ukraine and Russia signed a landmark deal with Turkey and the United Nations aimed at easing a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain deliveries.
The European Union welcomed the departure of a grain, describing it as a "first step" towards mitigating the food crisis.
Spokesperson Peter Stano said the EU still expects "implementation of the whole deal and resumption of Ukrainian exports to the customers around the world."
Meanwhile the United Nations also welcomed the news.
"The Secretary-General hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the initiative signed, and that this will bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security, especially in the most fragile humanitarian contexts," the UN said in a statement.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the departure of the ship from the port of Odesa as a "relief for the world", particularly the Middle East, Asia and Africa
"Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal," Mr Kuleba tweeted.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said western allies "strongly support the full implementation of the deal to ease the global food crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine".
Turkey formally opened a special joint coordination centre in Istanbul last Wednesday to oversee the exports. The centre is being staffed by civilian and military officials from the two warring parties and delegates from Turkey and the UN.
Their primary assignment involves monitoring the safe passage of Ukrainian grain ships along established routes and overseeing their inspection for banned weapons on the way into and out of the Black Sea.
The blockage of deliveries from two of the world's biggest grain exporters has contributed to a spike in prices that has made food imports prohibitively expensive for some of the world's poorest countries.
UN estimates say nearly 50 million people began to face "acute hunger" around the world as a direct consequence of the war.
Wheat prices fell sharply hours after the grain deal was signed.
Read more on Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The United States also announced more weapons for Ukraine's forces, including ammunition for increasingly important rocket launchers and artillery guns.
The new $550m (€536.28) package will "include more ammunition for the high mobility advanced rocket systems otherwise known as HIMARS, as well as ammunition" for artillery, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The assistance includes 75,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition, a statement from the Pentagon said.
"To meet its evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities," the statement said.
This brings the total of military assistance committed to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office to more than $8.8bln (€8.58), according to the Pentagon.
Mr Kirby also hailed the first shipment of Ukrainian grain that left from the port of Odesa, describing it as an important step.
"We hope to see more ships depart in the coming days to travel onward to world markets with agricultural products such as grain, wheat, sunflower oil and corn," he said.
Meanwhile, Russian missiles hit Ukraine's port city Mykolaiv on the Black Sea, as President Vladimir Putin signed a new naval doctrine casting the United States as Russia's main rival and setting global maritime ambitions in the Black Sea and Arctic.
Mr Putin did not mention the conflict in Ukraine during a speech marking Russia's Navy Day yesterday, but said the navy would receive hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles in the coming months. The missiles can travel at nine times the speed of sound, out running air defences.
Navy Day celebrations in the port of Sevastopol were disrupted when five Russian navy staff members were injured by an explosion after a suspected drone flew into the courtyard of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Crimean port city's governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, told Russian media.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Olga Kovitidi, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament, told Russia's RIA news agency that the attack was "undoubtedly carried out not from outside, but from the territory of Sevastopol".
"Urgent search operations are being conducted in the city to track down the organisers of this terrorist act," Ms Kovitidi was quoted as saying.
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said more than 12 missile strikes yesterday, probably the most powerful on the city in five months of war, hit homes and schools, with two people confirmed killed and three wounded. Missile strikes continued into yesterday evening.
Ukrainian grain tycoon Oleksiy Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, and his wife were killed in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
Headquartered in Mykolaiv, a strategically important city that borders the mostly Russian-occupied Kherson region, Nibulon specialises in the production and export of wheat, barley and corn, and has its own fleet and shipyard.
