Ukraine’s port of Odessa offline after Russian drone strike: Minister

Ukraine’s agriculture minister says the Black Sea port of Odessa is not operating following the latest Russian drone attack on the region’s energy system, and that grain traders will continue to ship the crops via two other ports authorized to export grains under a deal between the two countries.

Mykola Solsky told Reuters in a phone call on Saturday that the ports of Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk are partially operating, saying the latter is now operating at about 80% of capacity.

Solsky went on to say Odessa is not operating at the moment since the power generators had not been switched on yet. “There are problems, but none of the traders are talking about any suspension of shipments. Ports use alternative energy sources.”

On Saturday, Russia hit two energy facilities in Odessa, leaving all non-critical infrastructures without power.

Odessa’s mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote in a post on Facebook, “Due to the scale of the damage, all users in Odessa except critical infrastructure have been disconnected from electricity.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said in a video address late on Saturday that more than 1.5 million people in the southern region were without power after Russian drone strikes hit the energy facilities.

Regional authorities said electricity for the city’s population will be restored “in the coming days,” while complete restoration of the networks may take two to three months.

MG