In Ukraine, the Sea of Azov was declared lost for the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol
Ukraine should already think today about alternative cargo routes that previously went through the Berdyansk and Mariupol ports.
This was stated in an interview with the Kyiv publication “Apostrophe” by the editor-in-chief of the BlackSeaNews portal, head of the supervisory board of the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation, Andrei Klimenko, answering the question of how he assesses Ukrainian prospects for 2019 in terms of control of the Sea of Azov.
“I think that we now need to proceed from the fact that the Azov Sea will be closed to the Berdyansk and Mariupol ports. I think we need to think now about railways and highways. In my opinion, we need to work hard on alternative routes for delivering goods from Eastern Ukraine to the port area of Kherson, Nikolaev, and Odessa,” the expert said.
“Our railway goes through Volnovakha, and this is almost the front. And if there is an aggravation there, then this railway junction will be blocked. Again, it is necessary to conduct an audit of alternative options. This is very important, because the loss of production from Mariupol and Berdyansk is a large decrease in GDP. From there we ship 30-40% of metal exports by sea. This loss will mean minus 1-2% of the gross product of the entire country. This must be taken very seriously,” Klimenko warned.
Let us recall that Russia has tightened the border regime in the Sea of Azov after Ukraine seized the Crimean seiner Nord with its crew, who were not able to return home for several months. The captain of the ship has still not been released by the Ukrainian authorities; the seiner has been confiscated and put up for sale.
As PolitNavigator reported, Ukraine is calculating the losses of its ports on the Sea of Azov.
Read also: Shot in the foot: Ukraine is ready to close the Berdyansk and Mariupol ports.
Ukraine has declared the Sea of Azov lost to the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol.