By David Sole
Ukraine’s targeting of Russian ships, industrial and commercial facilities has dominated the Western propaganda media in an attempt to shift the narrative away from Russia’s gains on the battlefields. What has been less reported on is the more decisive Russian air war to blockade Ukraine’s maritime trade and major ports.
Ukraine has been unrestrained in its launch of hundreds of drones per day often hitting civilian targets. Russia has announced that it is carrying out its strikes in retaliation. The documented exhaustion of Ukraine’s air defense missiles means that Russian munitions are virtually unimpeded all across the country while the vast majority of Ukraine missiles and drones never make it to their targets.
Key to Russia’s blockade plans is shutting down the major Black Sea ports in southern Ukraine. Odesa, with over one million residents is described as “the third-most populous city … in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub….The city of Odesa hosts both the Port of Odesa and Port Pivdennyi, a significant oil terminal situated in the city’s suburbs. Another notable port, Chornomorsk, is located in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odesa. Together they represent a major transport hub integrating with railways.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In addition to aiming to prevent delivery of weapons by sea, Russia is also blockading grain and commercial shipment our from Odesa and other ports. Many ships, both incoming and outbound have been disabled and destroyed to tighten the noose on Ukrainian commerce. The New York Times reports that ‘the three ports account for about 60 percent of Ukraine’s monthly export revenue of $3.5 billion.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/
On July 25 a Ukrainian attack on the Iranian cargo freighter “Ana” in the Caspian Sea almost led to a major confrontation between those nations. According to RT News “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major Mohsan Rezaee said on Monday that Tehran had selected targets in Ukraine. ‘We were set to strike three sites in Ukraine, but canceled the attack following Ukraine’s apology.” https://www.rt.com/news/
Ground fighting continues with a notable Russian advance into the Ukrainian held town of Orekhov in the south. Orekhov is described as a “strategic front-line city” and played a key role in the failed Ukrainian offensive in 2023. That offensive, Ukraine’s last major mobilization, broke apart on miles of layered Russian defensive positions. The town sits only about 40 miles from the city of Zaporizhzhia with a population of over 700,000 people.
In the Donetsk People’s Republic the Russians are moving toward the last Ukrainian strongholds of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk after taking control of Konstantinovka in July.
Ukraine’s future prospects are bleak in fighting this proxy war for the US and NATO. The country is being pounded daily by missiles and drones with little ability to stop the attacks. Ports are being shut down, industrial production and transportation are suffering severely. A dire lack of trained soldiers is keeping front line positions understaffed. It remains to be seen if these difficulties will be enough to cause a collapse of Ukraine’s fighting capacity. Should that occur the question arises – will the US and European imperialists dangerously escalate to more direct intervention rather than see their proxy be forced to surrender?