In Odesa, no-one is safe from Russia's new Black Sea strikes

In Odesa, Russia has launched deadly strikes on the city's commercial ports, leaving workers and infrastructure devastated. Svitlana Halchenko, a warehouse shift manager, lost her crane operator and driver, who both died after a Russian ballistic missile exploded nearby. Despite her injuries, Svitlana remains determined to continue working at the port, which has seen a sharp increase in attacks.

In July alone, 57 Russian attacks were recorded, with 22 occurring at sea and 67 hitting port infrastructure. The latest casualty was a Turkish-owned cargo vessel, Golden Leo, which sank off Odesa after being struck by three Russian missiles, killing nine crew members. Oleg Grygoriuk, Chairman of the Marine Transport Workers Union of Ukraine, warns that port workers face imminent danger, as a Russian missile can strike within a minute of being launched from Crimea.

The port city's once bustling activity is now eerily quiet, with berths empty and cranes idle. The recent alerts have forced port operations to shut down for 15 out of 24 hours. Odesa's port, crucial for Ukraine's grain exports, is now almost devoid of ships, as the risks are deemed too great for most shipowners. This strategic blockade, part of Russia's retaliation for Ukraine's successful attacks on Russian shipping, poses a severe threat to the country's agricultural exports during the sensitive summer harvest period.