ANKARA 

Six more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the historic Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Saturday. 

A ministry statement did not disclose the ships' points of departure or destinations.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports after they were paused when the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Since the first vessel sailed under the deal on Aug. 1, more than 170 ships have carried over 4 million tons of agricultural products through the grain corridor.