Russian Strikes Target Sunflower Oil Facilities in Odesa Amid Ongoing Conflict

Russia targeted a sunflower oil storage facility during ongoing airstrikes in Ukraine’s Black Sea Odesa region for the second consecutive day, as reported by both Kyiv and a seed oil trader on Saturday.

Recent weeks have seen a surge in Russian bombardments wreaking havoc across the coastal area, damaging bridges and ports while cutting off electricity and heating for thousands of people amid freezing conditions.

“Once again, Russia is attempting to limit Ukraine’s access to the sea and to obstruct our coastal regions,” remarked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the assaults. He stated that he had directed the rapid execution of “temporary infrastructure measures to ensure that people have access to essential resources.”

Previously, Moscow announced its intent to intensify strikes on Ukrainian ports in retaliation for attacks on its oil tankers circumventing sanctions.

According to Allseeds director of trade Cornelis Vrins, “Ukraine’s largest vegetable oil terminal, Allseeds Black Sea, was targeted in a bombardment early Saturday” at the Pivdennyi port, resulting in the death of one employee and injuries to two others.

The assault resulted in the loss of “thousands of tons of sunflower oil,” causing the most significant damage to the company since the onset of the conflict, as stated by the co-founder of one of Ukraine’s leading seed oil trading companies.

According to analysts, Ukraine, with its vast agricultural sector, is the world’s top producer of sunflower oil, and attacks on its export infrastructure could disrupt global markets and impede government revenue.

On Friday, Ukraine claimed it had targeted yet another of Moscow’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet” tankers in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean, marking its first military action in that sea during the nearly four-year conflict.

Earlier this month, Kyiv also engaged similar vessels in the Black Sea.

In early December, Putin indicated that Russia would escalate its attacks on Ukrainian ports and threatened to entirely block access to the sea if tankers continued to be targeted.

These attacks occur amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, with officials from Ukraine, Russia, and Europe meeting in Miami for another round of U.S.-facilitated discussions.