Ukraine managed to restore the work of the ports of Greater Odesa without the participation of third parties. This became possible due to military prerequisites, in particular, the attack on a Russian landing ship in August.
This was stated at the conference "The Future of Ukrainian Exports" by Deputy Prime Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ekonomichna Pravda reports.
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As of today, 10 ships have passed through the Ukrainian Black Sea corridor. Moreover, for the first time, ships came out not only with agricultural products, but also with metallurgical products. According to Kubrakov, the prerequisites for the operation of the current corridor, as in the case of the grain initiative, were military – the liberation of Zmiinyi Island and the sinking of the Moskva cruiser.
"The same is now – a lot has happened in the Black Sea that has not happened before: significant damage to a landing ship near Novorossiysk and many, many other things. Military parity in the Black Sea has not yet been established, but the situation is definitely not the same as it was six months ago," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
It was also said that, on the one hand, the corridor makes it possible to significantly increase export volumes, and on the other hand, it is a fairly new initiative that may lack stability.
According to Kubrakov, the sea corridor can become relatively guaranteed only in two cases: after Ukraine's victory in the war or according to the "grain initiative" scenario. He stressed that the temporary corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy has been registered in all world systems, it is officially recognized.
"We understand that some incidents may occur, the war continues. If something happens to our civilian vessel, we will not talk about it, but we have something to respond to – there are military targets, there are other targets, and the enemy also understands this dangerous line," Kubrakov emphasized.
Now the Russian Federation is focused on attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure, he stressed, and Ukraine's international partners also understand this. Therefore, Ukrainian side hopes for a significant strengthening of air defense in these areas.
Earlier, the spokeswoman of the South Operational Command noted that the trust in the Defense Forces on the part of leading shipbuilders is obvious. The ships continue to use the humanitarian corridor.