Russia Escalating Bid to Choke Ukraine’s Grain Corridor as Ships Stay Away – Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of escalating its campaign to cripple Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports, saying no commercial vessels entered the country’s ports on Thursday as Moscow steps up attacks on maritime infrastructure.

Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelensky said the Kremlin was deliberately trying to shut down Ukraine’s grain corridor.

“They will do everything to block our grain corridor,” Zelensky said. “Yesterday, not a single vessel was able to enter our port. They attacked all the ships. They will intensify this.”

He added that Kyiv had anticipated Russia’s strategy months ago and appointed a dedicated official to oversee the protection and operation of the maritime export route.

Zelensky’s comments came as major global shipping companies began suspending operations at Ukrainian ports amid mounting security risks.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said they were halting calls to the port of Chornomorsk after a surge in Russian missile and drone attacks on the Odesa region.

“Recent missile and drone attacks in the Odesa region have significantly increased the operational and security risks,” Hapag-Lloyd told AFP.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had warned a day earlier that “zero vessels” passed through Ukraine’s Black Sea maritime corridor on July 22, at the height of the grain harvest, calling it a threat to global food security.

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The disruption is already rippling through global markets. Maritime intelligence firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence said the worsening security situation has pushed up wheat prices as shipowners reassess the risks of operating in Ukrainian waters.

Agricultural exports remain one of Ukraine’s few major sources of hard currency during Russia’s full-scale invasion, with around 90% of grain and vegetable oil shipments leaving through Black Sea ports around Odesa. Ukraine and Russia together account for roughly 30% of global wheat exports.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Odesa’s ports throughout the war but has recently intensified strikes on grain terminals, sunflower oil facilities and commercial vessels.

Last Sunday, a Russian attack killed 10 people, including four Indian nationals, aboard a cargo ship off the Odesa coast.

Ukraine has simultaneously increased attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov and on Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used to evade Western sanctions.