This file photo shows the filling of the hold on the UN-chartered vessel MV Valsamitis while it is loaded to deliver 25,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat to Kenya and 5,000 tonnes to Ethiopia, at the port of Chornomorsk, east of Odessa on the Black Sea coast, on February 18, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

KIEV – Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday urged the European Commission to ensure unimpeded export of all Ukrainian agricultural products to the European Union (EU) despite Poland's calls for an export ban extension.

"This is an act of solidarity not only with Ukraine but with the world, which relies on our grain," Shmyhal tweeted.

He described Poland's intention to continue blocking the export of Ukrainian grain to the EU as an "unfriendly and populist move."

The extension of a ban on Ukraine's grain exports will severely impact global food security and Ukraine's economy, Shmyhal said

The extension of a ban on Ukraine's grain exports will severely impact global food security and Ukraine's economy, Shmyhal said.

In May, the European Commission imposed a ban on grain exports from Ukraine to five European countries.

READ MORE: Black Sea grain deal stares at bleak future

On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on the EU to extend the ban, which expires on Sept. 15.

Morawiecki stressed that Poland will not lift the ban even if the EU does not agree on its extension, according to media reports. 

Saperartly, Ukraine says to consider ships to Russia-controlled ports as military cargo carriers. 

READ MORE: Russia strikes key Ukraine ports after Crimea bridge attack

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it will consider all ships traveling to Russia and Russia-controlled areas in Ukraine through the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo.

"All vessels heading in the waters of the Black Sea in the direction of seaports of the Russian Federation and Ukrainian seaports located on the territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the associated risks," the ministry said in a post on Telegram.

ALSO READ: Russia to view ships sailing to Ukraine as 'military carriers'

The new rules will take effect from midnight local time on July 21, it said.

The announcement came after Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday it would consider ships destined for Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea to be carriers of military cargo.