UKRAINE, RUSSIA STEP UP STRIKES ON CRUCIAL SHIPPING ROUTE
The Black Sea was a flashpoint of the Ukraine war in the months following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbour. But under a deal meant to ease global price shocks and allow both countries to ship grain, shipping had largely resumed.
Moscow and Kyiv, however, are now stepping up attacks in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and targeting key revenue sources.
Ukrainian forces have hit Russian energy infrastructure, including oil tankers, while Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine’s deepwater ports and cargo vessels.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday that its forces hit fuel reservoirs at the port of Odesa overnight, Interfax reported.
Russian strikes have killed 28 people in the Odesa region so far this month, its governor said on Monday.
Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters, and the renewed violence on this route has raised concerns about supply.
Ukraine, which in recent seasons accounted for about 6 per cent of global wheat exports and about 11 per cent of global corn exports, has lost about a third of its capacity to export grain via its Black Sea ports due to Russian missile and drone attacks, traders and analysts have said.
The Ukrainian attacks have forced Russia, the world’s top grain exporter, to limit shipping in the Sea of Azov – a route that handles about a quarter of its grain exports, sources have told Reuters.