Russia is attempting to turn the Black Sea into a second Strait of Hormuz. Attacks on Ukrainian ports and merchant vessels are forcing shipowners to abandon the country’s main export corridor. The classic naval blockade, as in February 2022, when warships were moored offshore, is no longer in place. The tactic is different: the route is bombarded with missiles and drones until insurance, freight, and risk make port entry unprofitable.
It wasn’t only Ukrainian ships that used this corridor. Foreign ships, including European ones, operated in the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny, transporting grain to the global market. Attacks on ports and such ships are a blow to crews, contracts, and food supplies. When grain is unable to reach the sea, shortages and prices rise far beyond Ukraine’s borders: in Europe, in importing countries, and in the feed and grain markets. This naval campaign is being conducted in parallel with strikes on civilian targets. On the night of September 1, a ballistic missile strike on Kyiv and the surrounding region claimed lives in residential areas; Ukrzaliznytsia employees working on railway infrastructure were also killed. On September 5, Russia struck several regions simultaneously. In Kamenskoye, a strike on a company killed people. In the Odesa region, warehouses were repeatedly struck.
For Ukraine, a functioning sea corridor is a source of foreign currency during the war. For Europe and the world, it is a grain route. Therefore, Ukrainian strikes on Russian port infrastructure and the ships that support this war at sea appear not as an arbitrary escalation, but as a reciprocal response. If Ukrainian ports and European grain-carrying vessels are being targeted, pressure on Russian ports is a way to protect food exports.
This is not only in Ukraine’s interests. It is in the interests of Europe and countries that depend on stable grain supplies. While Russia is causing food shortages by attacking civilian ships and ports, a reciprocal response against Russian maritime hubs remains a necessary measure to protect this route.
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