Russia has stepped up its military strikes on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, triggering widespread power outages and raising concerns over the safety of critical maritime infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the attacks were “systematic” and warned that Moscow’s focus in the war may now be shifting toward Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the repeated strikes were aimed at cutting off Ukraine’s access to vital sea routes used for trade and logistics.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to block Ukraine’s access to the sea in response to drone attacks on oil tankers linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea.
The “shadow fleet” refers to hundreds of vessels Russia is believed to use to bypass Western sanctions imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Port Infrastructure Under Fire
On Monday evening, Russian strikes hit port facilities in Odesa, damaging a civilian vessel, according to regional authorities. The attack was part of a wave of hundreds of strikes that have disrupted electricity supplies across the region for several consecutive days and caused multiple casualties.
On Sunday night, power cuts affected around 120,000 people, while a fire at a major port destroyed dozens of containers filled with flour and vegetable oil. Last week, a ballistic missile strike on the Pivdenniy port, east of Odesa, killed eight people and injured at least 30 others.
Another attack earlier in the week killed a woman travelling in a car with her three children and temporarily shut down the only bridge connecting the Odesa region with neighbouring Moldova.
Strategic Importance of Odesa
Zelensky said a new regional air force commander would soon be appointed following the dismissal of Dmytro Karpenko over the weekend.
Odesa plays a crucial role in Ukraine’s economy. It is the country’s third-largest city, after Kyiv and Kharkiv, and has become strategically vital as other major ports in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv remain inaccessible due to Russian occupation.
Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine remains one of the world’s leading exporters of wheat and corn. Since August 2023, Odesa has served as the starting point for a key maritime corridor that allows Ukrainian grain exports to move along the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria before reaching Turkey.
Diplomatic Efforts Show Little Progress
Zelensky, who has previously accused Russia of “sowing chaos” in Odesa, said the latest attacks show that Moscow has no intention of ending its aggression without stronger international pressure.
His comments came as the latest round of US-led diplomatic talks concluded in Miami. While the United States held separate meetings with Ukrainian and Russian delegations, no clear breakthrough was achieved.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said discussions with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov focused on aligning positions around a 20-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv earlier this month. The plan was presented as an alternative to a US proposal from November that Ukraine viewed as favouring Moscow.
Russian officials, however, dismissed the revised proposals. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said changes suggested by Ukraine and European partners would not improve the prospects for peace.
Russia Rejects European Role, Strikes Kyiv
On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused European countries of trying to undermine potential Russia-US agreements on Ukraine and claimed Europe was driven by an “irrational” fear of a Russian attack. He said Moscow was willing to legally guarantee that it had no intention of attacking the EU or NATO, echoing earlier remarks by Putin.
Meanwhile, Russia also launched an early-morning air attack on Kyiv on Tuesday. Ukrainian authorities said air defence systems were activated over the capital, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.