Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has virtually halted all maritime trade in Ukrainian ports, according to recently declassified US intelligence, disrupting critical exports to Ukraine and risking a global food crisis.
In the months since Russia invaded in February, it has imposed an “effective blockade” in the northern part of the Black Sea, according to a U.S. official who provided a declassified map of the region to CNN on condition of anonymity.
The map analyzes the density of ships entering and leaving Ukrainian ports before and after the conflict, showing an almost complete decline in trade to Black and Azov ports since the invasion. A third map provides an ongoing visualization of the density of Russian naval vessels clustered in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine, highlighting “hotbeds of activity,” according to the US official.
“The impact of Russia’s actions cannot be underestimated, as Ukraine’s maritime exports are vital to global food security,” he said, echoing the broad assessment of Western analysts and government officials.
Ukraine provides about 10% of the world’s wheat exports, the official said, most of them leaving the country from Black Sea ports.
Some context: Before the war, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the US State Department. Almost 30% of world wheat trade comes from Russia and Ukraine alone.
The UN World Food Program – which helps combat global food insecurity – buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year and warns of dire consequences if Ukrainian ports are not opened.
Last week, CNN reported that the United States and its allies were discussing how to safely develop routes to transport grain from Ukraine amid concerns about global food supplies. New satellite images, reported by CNN on Monday, appear to confirm Ukraine’s claims that Russia is also stealing grain warehouses that are idle in commercial ports.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Russia has intimidated trade traffic, occasionally obstructed the safe passage to Ukraine through the Kerch Strait, and apparently deployed warships off Ukraine’s shores and smashed Ukrainian ports, the US official said.
CNN’s Alex Marquard contributed to this post
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