Russia attacks Ukrainian river ports on the NATO border

In its strategy of setting fire to food, Moscow is bringing its destruction to the gates of NATO and the European Union. Russia attacked for the first time two export terminals on the Danube, located next to Romania, a country belonging to the Atlantic Alliance and the EU. Reni and Izmail are key in the alternative route to Ukrainian ports, blocked or attacked by Russia since the start of the large-scale invasion last year. The drone strike injured seven people.

The governor of the Odessa region of Ukraine denounced that Russia is trying to completely block Ukrainian grain exports to world markets.. “Russia is trying to starve the world,” Oleh Kiper told Ukrainian television..

The attacks last week were mainly focused on the seaports of Odessa. This time it is the turn of the infrastructure along the Danube, an alternative export route that has been vital for Kiev since the suspension of the agreement that allowed safe exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea in the middle of the war.

The port of Reni, a major transportation hub, looks out across the Danube towards Romania, a member of NATO and the European Union. The 'Reni-Odessa' news website reported that three grain warehouses had been destroyed in this port city.. The attack involved about 15 drones.

Since the large-scale invasion of Russia in February last year, Ukraine has expanded overland grain exports through the European Union to around 1 million tonnes a month, with large volumes exported from Romanian ports and along the Danube, according to Reuters data.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimytro Kuleba denounced on Twitter that Russia “attempts to extract concessions by taking 400 million people hostage. I urge all nations, particularly those in Africa and Asia, which bear the brunt of rising food prices, to create a united global response to food terrorism.”

These river ports are shallower than those on the Black Sea, so their capacity is limited and they imply additional costs for exporters.. But even so, the port authorities of the Odessa region had claimed that these ports could manage up to 50% of the capacity of the region's seaport, attacked last week..

Russia is willing to cancel this possibility to stifle exports. Putin's regime tries to destroy food production in Ukraine. In the early morning of July 19 alone, 60,000 tons of grain were set on fire by Russian missile strikes in the port of Chornomorsk.. In addition, Russia has burned agricultural land, stolen grain and destroyed dams in the fighting zone.

Although their attacks carry a risk of famine, Russian exports have benefited from the woes of Ukraine, a competitor in many trade chapters.. Russian port operations in the Black Sea increased by 21% in 2023, according to data released by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).