Since mid-July, Russia has significantly stepped up its campaign against Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure. The ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne, along with the Danube river port of Izmail, are being struck almost daily in combined attacks involving drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, these operations target facilities used for storing and transferring military equipment, drone manufacturing workshops, logistics depots, Neptune-2 coastal missile systems, fuel tanks, and also merchant vessels present in Ukrainian ports.
The impact on maritime traffic has been substantial. Since July 22, no commercial vessel is reported to have used the Ukrainian sea corridor leading to the ports of Odesa. Major international shipowners, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have suspended their calls at Chornomorsk. Russia appears to be seeking to establish a total naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline.
A Retaliatory Measure
For the Russian authorities, this offensive is above all a response to operations that Ukraine has been carrying out for several months against Russian maritime infrastructure.
Since late 2025, Ukrainian forces have indeed stepped up strikes against Russian ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, as well as against tankers exporting Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions. These attacks are said to have driven up insurance costs and disrupted Russian maritime exports. Tit for tat, Moscow is now turning against Odesa the very same methods previously used by Kyiv against Russian port infrastructure…
Major Economic Pressure
The economic consequences could be considerable. More than 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports normally pass through the ports of the Odesa region. Ukraine’s grain export capacity is said to have already fallen by roughly a third, at the height of the harvest season. Alternative routes appear insufficient: the Danube’s low water level limits how much vessels can load at Izmail, while the capacity of Romanian ports, notably Constanța, would not be enough to absorb the volumes previously handled by Odesa.
Global agricultural markets are beginning to react, with a marked rise in world wheat prices, fueling concerns over the impact of this new phase of the war on food security in many importing countries.
A New Phase of the War
Beyond its immediate consequences, this campaign reflects a consistent feature of Russian strategy. Rather than launching large-scale military maneuvers costly in manpower, Moscow favors a strategy of attrition aimed at neutralizing Ukraine’s logistical and economic capabilities.
By systematically striking ports, warehouses, fuel depots, and merchant vessels, Russia is transposing to the sea a method already used on the land front: gradually depriving its adversary of its supply capabilities — particularly of Western weapons — rather than seeking a swift territorial victory.
This strategy opens a new stage in the war in the Black Sea. After several months during which Ukraine had managed to carry the conflict into Russian maritime infrastructure itself, Moscow now appears to want to reverse the balance of power by making Ukrainian maritime trade itself the primary target of its retaliation.