Ukraine War Latest: Temporary silos to be built along Ukraine border, Biden says

US President Joe Biden said temporary silos will be built along the border with Ukraine, including in Poland, in a bid to help export more grain from the war-torn country.

Biden told a union convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters:

I’m working closely with our European partners to get 20 million tons of grain locked in Ukraine out onto the market to help bring down food prices.

It can’t get out through the Black Sea because it’ll get blown out of the water …

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So we’re going to build silos, temporary silos, on the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland.”

Biden said the United States is working on a plan to get grain out of Ukraine by rail, but noted that Ukrainian railway track gauges are different to those in Europe, so the grain has to be transferred to different trains at the border.

He said the grain could be transferred from those Ukrainian railway cars into the new silos, and then on to Europe freight cars to “get it out to the ocean and get it across the world.”

“But it’s taking time,” he added.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and blockade of its Black Sea ports, grain shipments have stalled and more than 20m tonnes are stuck in silos. Sea mines laid by Russia has also meant some 84 foreign ships are still stuck in Ukrainian ports – many of which have grain cargoes onboard.