Russia: Ukraine tests new Black Sea corridor amid attack on ports

Russian drones pounded grain storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe, after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement using the Black Sea. At the same time, a loaded container ship stranded at the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia‘s full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago set sail along a temporary corridor established by Ukraine for merchant shipping.

Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said the primary targets of Russia’s overnight drone bombardment were port terminals and grain silos, including at the ports in the Danube delta. Air defences managed to intercept 13 drones over Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, according to the Ukraine air force’s morning update. It was the latest attack amid weeks of aerial strikes as Russia has targeted the Danube delta ports, which are only about 15km from the Romanian border. The Danube is Europe’s second-longest river and a key transport route.
“A first vessel used the temporary corridor for merchant ships to/from the ports of Big Odesa,” deputy PM Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook. It had been stuck in Odesa since February 2022. The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte was travelling down a temporary “humanitarian” corridor that Ukraine asked the International Maritime Organisation to ratify. Kubrakov said it was carrying over 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers, adding that the corridor would primarily be used to evacuate ships from the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi.

Moscow has not indicated whether it would respect the shipping corridor, and shipping and insurance sources have expressed concerns. Ukraine is a major grain and oilseeds exporter and the UN says its supplies are vital to developing countries where hunger is a growing concern.