When the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative collapsed in mid-2023, Ukraine set up its own unilateral shipping corridor to keep maritime trade moving. Russia has renewed its blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports since the summer, disrupting trade routes, reducing grain and steel exports and dealing a heavy blow to the Ukrainian economy.
Russian forces have attacked at least two Ukrainian cargo ships in the Black Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Moscow also said another cargo ship was hit south of Odesa city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian strikes hit two vessels sailing under foreign flags in the Odesa Black Sea region on Tuesday.
A Liberian-flagged cargo ship in one of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in the Odesa region was attacked, killing one person and injuring three. Thirteen crew members were evacuated to safety from the vessel.
The attacks have extended beyond ships at sea. Russia conducted massive air strikes against port and industrial infrastructure in the Odesa region on Monday, Oleh Kiper, the Ukrainian governor of the region, reported on Telegram.
In a large strike on 12 September 2026, Russia targeted Odesa and its surrounding region with sea-launched cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. It also launched 129 drones across Ukraine. Ukraine’s air defences shot down or suppressed 110 aerial targets, according to preliminary data. At least 17 people were injured in Odesa, and Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa military administration, said a multi-story residential building was significantly damaged.
Zelensky said energy facilities, substations, civilian businesses and residential buildings were damaged across Kyiv and 10 other regions. A power plant in Kotsjotok in Kharkiv region was also hit.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, came under a Russian air strike on Sunday. One person was killed and six more were injured, according to Ihor Terekhov, the city’s mayor, who reported the casualties on Telegram.
Russia and Ukraine have ramped up attacks on vessels and port facilities in the Black Sea over the past two months, disrupting shipping and affecting exports of commodities including grain. Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry has called for coordinated international action to improve security for civilian vessels in the Black Sea region.
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