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Praise poured in for the Black Sea grain deal after it was extended yesterday, allowing Ukraine to continue exporting millions of tons of food for another four months – but Russia said that more of its demands need to be met.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Zelensky said: “This is a very specific thing that makes the world see the importance of Ukraine… Tens of millions of people, primarily in African countries, have been saved from starvation” by exports from the Black Sea ports, with much of the grain bought by the World Food Programme.

“We also managed to reduce the pressure on the global food market. And this means that food prices are significantly lower than they would be without our food exports,” he added.

Senior UN official Rebeca Grynspan also said on Friday that “we are really very pleased about the extension… It is very good news for the world.”

But she added that “we are still not where we want to be, there is still work to be done”.

In a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – whose government helped to broker the deal – Vladimir Putin emphasized the “package nature” of the deal.

One key issue that still needs to be resolved is the export of Russian ammonia via a pipeline to the Black Sea. Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertiliser, and a shortage of it is contributing to the food crisis.

But with the pipeline running through Ukrainian territory, Zelensky has previously said he would only allow it in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

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