--- title: "Zelensky at YES-2026: Black Sea grain corridor blocked, world faces an 'agro-Strait of Hormuz'" description: "At the Yalta European Strategy-2026, Volodymyr Zelensky declared the Black Sea grain corridor blocked and warned of the risk of a global food crisis, which he called the 'agro-Strait of Hormuz'." date: 2026-09-11T19:04:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zelensky-agro-ormuz-black-sea-grain-corridor-blockade tags: [ukraine, black-sea-grain-corridor, food-security, wheat-prices, zelensky, yes-2026] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Zelensky at YES-2026: Black Sea grain corridor blocked, world faces an 'agro-Strait of Hormuz' ![Zelensky at the negotiation table at YEC 2026 with the Ukrainian flag behind him — discussing the blocked Black Sea grain corridor](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/11/zelensky-agro-ormuz-blokada-zernovogo-koridora/zelensky-agro-ormuz-blokada-zernovogo-koridora-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Zelensky stated at YES-2026 that the Black Sea grain corridor is blocked and compared the threat to an 'agro-Strait of Hormuz'. - Global wheat prices reached a three-year high against the backdrop of escalation risks. - Kyiv, together with its partners, is preparing diplomatic solutions on the safety of maritime shipments and is proposing a 'grain' and energy truce. At the Yalta European Strategy-2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a Telegram statement, raised an issue that, in his assessment, goes far beyond the bilateral relations between Kyiv and Moscow. He spoke about the state of the grain corridor in the Black Sea and about the fact that its de facto blockade creates the threat of a global food crisis, the resolution of which, according to the president, must be addressed immediately. ### 'Agro-Strait of Hormuz': the blockade of the corridor and risks for the world Zelensky stated that the food corridor is today blocked: on the Ukrainian side, in his words, it is 'almost blocked', while on the Russian side it is fully blocked. He emphasized that Ukrainians will not be left without food, however, grain exports will become expensive, the sales infrastructure — complicated, and logistics — 'dreadful'. The president linked the main threat to the situation in other countries, where, in his words, 'many peoples will have nothing to eat, even if they have money.' To describe the scale of the problem, he used a metaphor: 'This will be the Strait of Hormuz, only the agro version.' ### Blow to global wheat prices Zelensky's statements coincided with a sharp rise in global wheat prices, which, according to the data cited in the materials, jumped to the highest level in the past three years against the backdrop of the threat of a new escalation of the war in Ukraine. Thus, the rhetoric about the 'blockade' of the corridor is reflected in market dynamics: participants in the agro-industrial market are already factoring into quotes the risks of supply disruptions via the Black Sea. ### Diplomatic track: decisions on the safety of shipments According to the president, the problem must be solved not only by Ukraine, but by the international community as a whole. He proposed considering an 'energy truce' and ensuring food security as separate issues to be resolved now, even if a general peace, in his formulation, is 'impossible, because one person does not want it.' In this logic, according to reports by Ukrainian media, Kyiv, together with its partners, is preparing diplomatic solutions on the safety of maritime food shipments. ### Contradictory data In Zelensky's statements and in the way different outlets present the events, a duality can be traced. On the one hand, the president advocates a 'grain' and energy truce and negotiations on ending the war, claiming that Russia does not want such a truce. On the other hand, earlier, according to RBC-Ukraine, he stated Ukraine's readiness to respond symmetrically to Russian strikes on the energy system during the cold period. Moreover, there is a nuance in the description of the blockade: the corridor is characterized as 'almost blocked' on the Ukrainian side and 'blocked' on the Russian side, meaning that the degree of restriction on the two banks is presented as unequal. These discrepancies are important to take into account when interpreting the factual picture. ### What's next The bottom line of the statement is that agro and energy are named the two main challenges for the whole world, and decisions on them, in Zelensky's assessment, 'can be made now.' Observers are left to watch whether Kyiv's diplomatic initiatives will turn into concrete mechanisms for the safety of shipments and whether they will affect the dynamics of global grain prices. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Zelensky: Ukrainians will not be left without food, but the world faces an 'agro-Strait of Hormuz'](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-ukrayintsi-zalishatsya-yizhi-ale-1789152989.html) - Подтверждает цитаты о «почти заблокированном» с украинской и «заблокированном» с российской стороны коридоре, метафору «агро-Ормуз» и тезис о том, что украинцы не останутся без еды. - [Ukraine, together with partners, is preparing a solution for the safe export of food via ...](https://nv.ua/world/geopolitics/bezopasnost-perevozok-v-chernom-more-zelenskiy-anonsiroval-diplomaticheskie-resheniya-50638696.html) - Подтверждает дипломатический трек: подготовка с партнёрами решений по безопасности морских перевозок продовольствия. - [Russia does not want a 'grain' truce - Zelensky](https://korrespondent.net/ukraine/4905778-rf-ne-khochet-zernovoho-peremyryia-zelenskyi) - Подтверждает тезис о нежелании России «зернового» перемирия и призыве Зеленского к переговорам. - [Zelensky: We are preparing solutions on the safety of maritime food shipments](https://ru.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1198952.html) - Подтверждает заявление о подготовке решений по безопасности морских перевозок продовольствия. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What did Zelensky say about the Black Sea grain corridor? **A:** He stated that the food corridor is blocked: 'almost blocked' on the Ukrainian side, fully blocked on the Russian side, and that this is a challenge for the whole world. ### Q: What is the 'agro-Strait of Hormuz' in the context of the statement? **A:** It is Zelensky's metaphor for a possible global food crisis caused by the blockade of grain exports, by analogy with the risks in the Strait of Hormuz in the energy sector. ### Q: What solutions is Kyiv proposing? **A:** Zelensky proposes an 'energy truce' and ensuring food security as issues that can be resolved now, as well as diplomatic solutions on the safety of maritime food shipments together with partners.