Russia stepped up its air campaign against Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, striking key ports and a strategic bridge in what Ukrainian officials describe as a deliberate attempt to choke the country’s economy and cut it off from regional supply routes, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces launched missile and drone attacks on Saturday targeting the port of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny), one of Ukraine’s most vital maritime hubs. The strikes damaged fuel storage facilities, officials said.
The latest attack came just one day after a missile strike on the same port killed eight people and wounded at least 30 others, according to Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.
WATCH: Russian missile/drone attacks around Odesa ports are intensifying, hitting port, energy, and transport infrastructure.
Ukrainian air defenses intercept some threats but are overwhelmed.
Zelensky admits serious air-defense failures, with leadership changes underway. pic.twitter.com/U4CPjEmSbH
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 20, 2025
These assaults are part of an almost uninterrupted aerial campaign against the Odesa region, home to ports that form the backbone of Ukraine’s exports and fuel imports. Disrupting these facilities threatens both the civilian economy and Ukraine’s ability to sustain logistics during the war.
In parallel with the port attacks, Russian forces struck a bridge spanning the Dniester estuary near the village of Maiaky, northeast of Pivdennyi, on Thursday and Friday. The bridge is a critical internal link within the region and the main route leading to border crossings with Moldova.
Ukrainian authorities swiftly diverted passenger traffic to alternative crossings, including water transport, and said new routes would be established regardless of the intensity of Russian attacks.
Officials in Kyiv said the escalation is aimed at undermining internal stability by targeting civilians and critical infrastructure, particularly as Russia has failed to achieve decisive breakthroughs on the battlefield.
“These attempts are obvious,” said Viktor Mykyta, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, adding that authorities and residents in Odesa are confronting the attacks together.
The Odesa region endured one of the most intense aerial bombardments since the start of the war last week, resulting in severe damage to energy infrastructure and widespread power outages that left hundreds of thousands without electricity for days.
Three Turkish-flagged vessels were also damaged during port strikes earlier this month, underscoring the broader risks to international shipping in the Black Sea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously vowed to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea in response to Ukrainian maritime drone attacks on oil tankers linked to what Moscow calls its “shadow fleet”, vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and transport oil, a key source of revenue for financing the war now approaching its fourth year.
As fighting intensifies around Ukraine’s southern coastline, analysts warn that the battle for control of Black Sea access is becoming an increasingly central front in the wider conflict.
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