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Ukraine's economic losses from escalating tensions in the Black Sea have surpassed $1 billion since July 22, Russia's state-run news agency TASS claimed on Thursday.
According to the calculations, Ukraine has lost roughly $70 million a day since intensified attacks on its Black Sea port infrastructure prompted shipping companies to suspend calls at the country's largest ports over security concerns, severely disrupting maritime exports.
Ukraine's main commercial ports, Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny, remain idle, with vessel schedules showing that large foreign merchant ships are no longer calling at the terminals, the report said.
Ukraine's maritime exports are now routed almost entirely through the Danube port of Izmail, where logistics are limited by both port capacity and the supporting rail network.
Even at full capacity, Izmail can handle no more than 20 million metric tons of cargo annually, compared with more than 40 million metric tons across the three Greater Odesa ports combined, according to the report.
TASS attributed the losses mainly to a steep drop in exports of agricultural products and steel, while it said the calculations do not include shipments of military cargo.
On July 22, Russia said it had struck the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, targeting port infrastructure, cargo vessels, fuel storage facilities and warehouses that it claimed were supporting Ukraine's military.
A day later, Ukrainian officials said shipowners had temporarily halted arrivals at the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) because of growing security risks.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia was intensifying attacks in an effort to shut down Ukraine's Black Sea grain export corridor after recent strikes hit civilian vessels and port infrastructure.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian attacks in July hit 35 vessels in ports, 22 vessels at sea, and 67 port facilities, affecting about 90% of the country's agricultural exports that normally move through the Odesa hub.
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi also warned that more than 30 million metric tons of grain and oilseeds, roughly half of the country's projected harvest this year, could be removed from global supplies if the disruption persists.
The disruption has driven up freight rates and war-risk insurance premiums while forcing exporters to divert cargo to smaller routes that cannot match the capacity of Ukraine's main Black Sea ports.
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