Zelensky: Russia has Damaged 321 Ukrainian Port Facilities

Damaged grain elevator after a Russian attack in the Odesa region (Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)

The Russian-Ukraine war crossed the 1000-day mile marker last week, and at a conference in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recounted the trail of destruction in his country’s maritime infrastructure. Speaking at the Grain from Ukraine Summit in Kyiv on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Russian drone and missile attacks have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July last year. Ukraine’s Ministry of Restoration has also estimated that at least 20 civilian cargo ships have been damaged by Russian attacks in the Black Sea region. In addition, more than 60 targeted attacks were aimed at food storage infrastructure.

Since the war began, Russia has been targeting Ukrainian grain exports, primarily by blockading and attacking ports. This comes with a massive food security cost, since Ukraine is a major global supplier of grain (wheat and corn) on the global market. Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine would regularly export around six million tons of grain every month from its Black Sea ports.

Currently, Ukraine exports grain through a secured corridor, which passes through the waters of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Since July, Ukrainian grain exports have seen 70 percent year-on-year growth. Ukraine exported around 16 million metric tons of grain by mid-November, compared to about 11 million tons in the same period last year.

According to government data, Ukrainian seaports handled 86.8 million tons of cargo between January 1 and November 17, with more than half of this volume (53.5 million tons) representing grain exports.

Meanwhile, pro-Russian authorities in Zaporizhzhia reported that on Saturday, the Ukrainian army attacked the Russian-occupied port of Berdiansk in the Sea of Azov with missiles. This is the third time in the last month that Ukraine has targeted the port as it intensifies attacks on Russian assets in Zaporizhzhia. No casualties were reported at the port during this attack, and the fire from the impact has since been extinguished.