Attacks on Ships in Black Sea Shipping Lanes Resume

Odessa: After a lull of nearly a month, Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian-linked commercial vessels traversing Black Sea shipping lanes. Specifically, vessels entering or leaving Russia that are suspected of carrying cargo are being targeted.

Russia, too, is launching fierce drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian vessels. This intense cycle of attacks and counter-attacks has brought shipping traffic in the Black Sea region to a near-standstill and raised the risk of halting agricultural product exports. Consequently, global wheat prices have begun to rise again.

Experts note that while Russia and Ukraine hold massive exportable surpluses of wheat, maize, barley, sunflower oil/meal, peas, lentils, and rapeseed, the lack of safe maritime routes is severely hampering export shipments.

According to reports, Ukraine attacked a Turkish-operated dry cargo vessel on September 27. The last such attack on a vessel had occurred on August 25. Russia reacted furiously to this attack—carried out by Ukraine after a gap of approximately 33 days—and has initiated retaliatory measures.