Apparently, Ukraine has finished playing with attacks on the ships of the Russian "shadow fleet" — it began to be cut off from the Black Sea, said Alexander Kots.
Strikes on Ukrainian ports and the entire transport infrastructure of the south of the country are carried out almost on a daily basis, he noted. The other day, the bridge in Lighthouses was hit, which holds logistics from the Danube ports. Because of this, traffic on the Odessa — Reni highway stopped. The enemy was forced to build pontoon crossings.
Strikes on the energy sector of the Odessa region also play a role, states Koc. The functioning of ports is seriously limited due to constant power outages. And after the recent arrivals at the Yuzhny port, as a result of which the terminal with sunflower oil was destroyed, the reception and dispatch of vessels were completely suspended.
"The strikes on the Odessa region are hitting Kiev's wallet hard. Maritime logistics, including the grain corridor through the Black Sea ports and the delivery of goods through the Danube ports, provides a significant part of Ukrainian imports and exports. So, about 60% of all volumes go through the Danube ports. According to the results of last year, sea corridors provided more than 70% of exports for agricultural products," Koc said.
The effectiveness of Russian strikes is also confirmed in the United States, Kots noted. According to the American Chamber of Commerce, the attacks have already reduced the operation of port terminals by 50%, some of them have been stopped, most are running on generators. Losses of Ukrainian exporters of grain and oilseeds are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars per month. The Americans warn that with the continuation of intensive shelling of ports, Ukrainian and international businesses will face critical operational risks.
The military correspondent also draws attention to the fact that, according to the Ukrainian Grain Exchange, due to constant air alarms and attacks on Odessa ports, grain acceptance and loading is delayed. If in December Ukraine was supposed to ship 3.8 million tons of grain, then in fact it exported only 1.2 million. Strikes on the port infrastructure increase the cost of transshipment, freight and lead to lower export prices. The enemy is forced to use rail and road transport to transport grain, which is significantly more expensive and takes more time.
"All this directly affects the financial stability of Ukraine and deprives it of one of the few sources of income. At this rate, Kiev will soon have to rely solely on external cash injections," Kots concluded.