MOSCOW — Russia said on Thursday it pulled its forces out of Black Sea island of Zmiyinyy in order to make it easy for Ukraine to export its grains.

In a press statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said it withdrew its forces from the Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island off Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa as a "goodwill gesture" that "the Russian Federation wasn’t hampering the United Nationsآ’ efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for taking agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine." Russia forces took control of the island in the opening days of the four-month war.

Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent the exports of grain, triggering a global food crisis. — Agencies