Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the attack targeted a container terminal that was recently purchased by the by the Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company in March.

A Russian missile strike damaged a key Ukrainian port terminal on Aug. 14, as Russia continues to terrorize Ukraine’s seaports.

The attack damaged at least one warehouse at the TIS terminal in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi (Southern) Port complex, an agriculture-sector executive with knowledge of the matter told the Kyiv Independent under the condition of anonymity.

TIS’s press service declined to comment on the attack.

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The strike comes the same day as Russia rejected the idea of reinstating the 2022-2023 Black Sea grain initiative. Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged strikes on ports and vessels recently, leading to growing concern of a global food crisis.

Turkey has attempted to mediate negotiations, having helped broker the original grain initiative, although Moscow has said Ankara has yet to send an official ceasefire proposal.

Reviving the framework of the grain initiative would be “ill-advised,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakaharova told reporters on Aug. 14, accusing “the West” of using the deal to attack Russia.

She also claimed that Ukraine was currently conducting maritime terrorism and “escalating” the situation. Meanwhile, Moscow relentlessly attacks Odesa Oblast, particularly port infrastructure.

TIS is co-owned by Andriy Stavnitser, a Ukrainian businessman who also owns the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for war veterans.

In March, the world’s largest container shipping company, the Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, took a majority stake in a TIS container terminal in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi (Southern) Port, marking a rare high-profile foreign investment into the country. The container terminal was not hit in the Aug. 14 attack.

Over the last two months, Russia has stepped up its attacks on Odesa’s seaports and civilian vessels in a bid to choke Ukraine’s key trade route. Some 90% of the country’s agricultural goods are exported via the Black Sea, accounting for 20% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) before the full-scale invasion.

With Russia striking vessels 35 times in port waters and 22 times in the Black Sea during last month alone, ships are avoiding docking at Ukraine’s ports, preventing agriculture and metallurgy businesses from exporting and importing goods.

The fallout of the attacks is already dire. Ukraine’s exports fell to just 30% of its target in the first two weeks of August, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky said at a briefing on Aug. 14. By November, the country could lose 10.8 billion euros ($12.5 billion) in blocked agricultural exports, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Read also: Moldova offers rail lifeline for Ukrainian food exports as Russia chokes Black Sea trade

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