The first vessel that used a new temporary corridor to and from Ukraine's seaports crossed through Türkiye's Bosporus on Friday.
The Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte container ship departed the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Wednesday – the first vessel to directly challenge Russia's new bid to seal Kyiv's access to the Black Sea.
The vessel had been stuck there for over one and a half years, throughout the entire course of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv last week announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports after the termination of a key wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain last month.
The Joseph Schulte moved along a western route that avoided international waters in favor of those controlled by NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.
Moscow has not indicated whether it would respect the corridor, and shipping and insurance sources have expressed concerns about safety.
Ukraine said merchant ships can use the corridor at their own risk.
The corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were stuck in Ukrainian ports, according to the government.
Local broadcasters have said the ship will anchor at Ambarli port in the south of Istanbul.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's shipping infrastructure since pulling out of the United Nations and Türkiye-mediated grain deal.
Ukraine's decision to confront Russia over sea access comes with world attention focusing on ways to secure grain export routes in time for this autumn's harvest.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain and seed oil.
Last year's grain agreement helped push down global food prices and provide Ukraine with an important source of revenue to fight the war.
Ukraine is now using the Danube River to ship out its grain. Much of that traffic flows down the river and ends up reaching the Black Sea at Ukraine's border with Romania.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials are holding talks with Türkiye and both Ukraine and its neighbors about increasing traffic along the Danube route.
An unnamed U.S. official told the paper that Washington was "going to look at everything" – including the possibility of military support for the Ukrainian ships.
But a Turkish defense official appeared to push back against Washington's initiative on Thursday.
"Our efforts are focused on making the grain corridor deal active again," the unnamed defense official told the Turkish NTV television.
"We are not working on other solutions."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to visit Türkiye later this month for talks focused on the grain deal and the Black Sea.
