Zelensky says Ukraine ready for Black Sea safe-passage deal, awaits Russia's response
Speaking at the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform on 23 September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has agreed to a regime of safe passage for vessels in the Black Sea and is waiting for Russia's official reply through mediators. Egypt, India and Turkey have submitted written proposals, and Zelensky linked the disruption of Black Sea exports of grain, fertilizers, diesel and oil to Russia's 2014 occupation and militarization of Crimea.
Key points
- Zelensky made the announcement at the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform on 23 September in New York.
- Ukraine has agreed to a regime of safe passage for vessels in the Black Sea and is waiting for Russia's response via intermediaries.
- Egypt, India and Turkey have put forward written proposals on Black Sea navigation and food security, Zelensky said.
- Zelensky linked rising global energy and food prices to Russia's 2014 occupation of Crimea and its use as a 'huge military base.'
- Russia attacked 52 civilian vessels in the Black Sea in July and the first half of August 2026; on 22 July not a single vessel passed through the Ukrainian maritime corridor.
- Ukrainian grain exports in August 2026 totaled 981,000 tonnes — 2.5 times less than the same month in 2025, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
- Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 1,173 port infrastructure facilities and 274 civilian vessels have been damaged or partially destroyed, Minister of Restoration Mykola Kalashnyk said.
Why it matters
Ukraine's public commitment to a Black Sea safe-passage regime signals a willingness to negotiate an end to the maritime blockade that has slashed Ukrainian grain exports and helped push up global food and energy prices. Because proposals from Egypt, India and Turkey are now on the table, the initiative is a multi-party diplomatic effort rather than a purely bilateral one — but Russia has not yet responded, leaving the opening unresolved. The stakes are economic as well as humanitarian: roughly 100 million tonnes of food from Russia and Ukraine are currently stuck because of the blockade.
What happened
At the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform in New York on 23 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine has agreed to a regime of safe passage for vessels in the Black Sea and is waiting for Russia's official response through mediators. He said Egypt, India and Turkey have submitted written proposals on Black Sea navigation and food security, and thanked Europe, the United States, Turkey and Egypt for their efforts to restore food security and shipping safety in the region. Zelenskyy argued that had Russia not occupied Crimea in 2014 and turned the peninsula into a large military base, exports of grain, fertilizers, diesel and oil through the Black Sea would now be proceeding unimpeded. He said Ukraine is ready to ensure peaceful, safe navigation and food security in the Black Sea if Russia takes real steps toward de-escalation. Foreign Minister of Turkey Hakan Fidan said Turkey has stepped up its diplomatic efforts, and Zelenskyy met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to New York.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The Ukrainian sources that supplied this material are Ukrainian-language agencies and outlets, which present Zelenskyy's statements at the Crimea Platform summit as the headline event. They frame the Black Sea blockade as a direct consequence of Russia's 2014 occupation and militarization of Crimea, depict Russian attacks on civilian shipping as deliberate economic and humanitarian terror, and highlight the diplomatic role of mediators — particularly Turkey (noting Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's intensified efforts and a Zelenskyy–Erdoğan meeting in New York), as well as Egypt and India. Ukrainian coverage also foregrounds the cost of the blockade in concrete terms, including Minister of Restoration Mykola Kalashnyk's figures on damaged port infrastructure and civilian vessels and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy data showing August 2026 grain exports down 2.5 times year-on-year.
Background
Russia occupied and subsequently militarized Crimea beginning in 2014. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, global food prices rose sharply, hitting developing countries especially hard; preventing a repeat of that crisis was among the tasks EU officials brought to the UN General Assembly, which opened on 18 September. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 1,173 port infrastructure facilities and 274 civilian vessels have been damaged or partially destroyed, according to Ukraine's Minister of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk. Around 100 million tonnes of food from Russia and Ukraine — roughly 60 million tonnes of Russian grain and 30–35 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds — cannot reach the world market because of the Black Sea shipping blockade. A Forbes Ukraine estimate put the cost of a year-long continuation of the grain blockade at more than $5 billion in lost export revenue and around 24 million tonnes of unshipped grain. On 14 September, US President Donald Trump said rising global diesel prices were caused mainly by Russia's war against Ukraine rather than the situation around Iran; Zelenskyy responded that Kyiv is ready for a mutual halt of strikes on critical infrastructure if partners can guarantee Russian compliance. On 15 September, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called a possible 'energy truce' a 'very good idea,' after previously casting doubt on one by calling energy Ukraine's 'Achilles' heel.' Ukraine also joined 51 UN member states in calling for a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire.