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.<\/p>\n
A Russian missile strike damaged a key Ukrainian port terminal on Aug. 14, as Russia continues to terrorize Ukraine’s seaports.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
TIS’s press service declined to comment on the attack.<\/p>\n
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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<\/a> on ports and vessels recently, leading to growing concern of a global food crisis.<\/p>\n Turkey has attempted<\/a> to mediate negotiations, having helped broker the original grain initiative<\/a>, although Moscow has said Ankara has yet to send an official ceasefire proposal. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n She also claimed that Ukraine was currently conducting maritime terrorism and “escalating” the situation. Meanwhile, Moscow relentlessly attacks Odesa Oblast, particularly port infrastructure.<\/p>\n TIS<\/a> is co-owned by Andriy Stavnitser, a Ukrainian businessman who also owns the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for war veterans.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Over the last two months, Russia has stepped up its attacks on Odesa’s seaports and civilian vessels in a bid to choke<\/a> Ukraine’s key trade route. Some 90% of the country’s agricultural goods are exported via the Black Sea<\/a>, accounting for 20% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) before the full-scale invasion.<\/p>\n With Russia striking<\/a> 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<\/a> businesses from exporting and importing goods.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> at a briefing on Aug. 14. By November, the country could lose<\/a> 10.8 billion euros ($12.5 billion) in blocked agricultural exports, according to the Agriculture Ministry.<\/p>\n Read also: Moldova offers rail lifeline for Ukrainian food exports as Russia chokes Black Sea trade<\/a><\/p>\n