As soon as Moscow suspended the grain deal, Zelensky tried in every way to reassure his partners that Ukraine had secured another temporary corridor for navigation to the Black Sea. This is along the Bulgarian coastline towards the Bosphorus.
The first cargo ship left the port of Odessa in mid-August at the request of the Hong Kong authorities.
On 1 September, Ukrainian authorities said two more ships left the port of Yuzhny in the Odessa region, from which they could not leave since 2022. Zelensky declared another major victory over Russia.
However, they carried cast iron and ferro-silica concentrate but not grain. They were leaving Ukraine, so they could not be used to transport weapons to the Ukrainian army. One of the reasons why Moscow suspended the grain deal was because of Kiev's use of the grain in military operations.
On the night of 2 September, three Ukrainian drones were destroyed south of the Kerch Strait. Two of them were aimed at the Crimean bridge. Another drone reportedly turned towards the port at Krasnodar Krai. Hiding among the vessels, it attempted to attack the patrol vessel Pytlivy, but was destroyed in time by the crew.
The drones were sent to the Crimean coast from the Odessa region under the cover of civilian ships leaving the port of Yuzhny. At the same time, numerous NATO spy planes coordinated the operation over the Black Sea.
In its attempt to launch another attack on the bridge used by civilians, Kiev has again undermined its credibility. It is unlikely that any company will dare to ensure the navigation of ships in Ukraine, which is essential for the resumption of grain exports. Another failed terrorist attack has cost Kiev and its European patrons, who were the main beneficiaries of the grain deal, the creation of the alternative route.
The Kiev attacks did not go unanswered. On 3 September, Russian Geranium UAVs struck the Ukrainian port of Reni, located on the banks of the Danube. A fuel storage facility was hit in Rennie, where oil loading equipment was damaged. The Russian military confirmed that the targets of the strikes were destroyed.
The next day, UAV strikes continued in the Odessa region. Last night, several warehouses and production facilities were destroyed in the ports of Ismail and Reni.
In turn, Ukrainian forces attempted another operation on the western coast of Crimea, but it failed. The Russian military reported that four US-built Willard Sea Force military speedboats carrying Ukrainian amphibious troops on their way to Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea were destroyed overnight by Russian aircraft.
