good morning. and welcome to way too early. on this monday, august 1st. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. we begin with the situation in ukraine. in a significant breakthrough this morning, a ship carrying ukrainian grain set off from the port of odesa to for the first time since the war started back in february. ukraine s minister of infrastructure tweeted this video of the vessel which is carrying more than 26,000 tons of corn and is on its way to lebanon. the ship is expected to reach istanbul on tuesday where it will be inspected before being allowed to proceed. the move is part of an internationally brokered deal between kyiv and moscow, to release millions of tons of grain to foreign markets, and ease a growing food crisis. ukrainian officials say 16 more ships are waiting to depart odesa s port as part of that deal. meanwhile, russia advances have slowed, almost to a standstill, as newly-delivered western weapons are helping ukrainian forces re-claim