in Odessa, the blocking of the port plunges Ukrainians into precariousness and unemployment

It was in a park in Odessa, far from the port, that we were able to chat with Dmitri Barinov. Even he, who is the deputy head of Ukrainian ports, cannot let us into the site. “The port is controlled by the military, that’s why it’s impossible to enter”. A shut down port, a barricaded porta fortress, which contains a treasure: several million tons of Ukrainian cereals, mainly wheat.

Since the first bombardments of the city on March 21, 2022, activity has been stoppedsubject to a blockade by the Russian army. Odessa, the big city in southern Ukraine, nearly a million inhabitants before the war, has the largest seaport in the country, and one of the largest on the Black Sea. Its annual traffic capacity reaches 40 million tons.

Before the war, two-thirds of Ukrainian grain exports passed through the Black Sea. But today this sea is partly mined. Impossible to sail here in the Gulf of Odessa. These mines are of two types, either they are ballasted, that is to say they float between two waters, a few meters from the surface; or they are anchored to the bottom of the sea. These explosive devices have been installed by both parties: by the Russians to block commercial traffic, but also by the Ukrainians to prevent the enemy from approaching.

Clearing this area might take some time, but it is doable. For this kind of operation, the agreement of the Ukrainians and the Russians is necessary. It is this agreement that the Western countries and also the African Union have been trying to find for several days. But while waiting to find common ground, in Odessa, the Ukrainians are trying to evacuate as best they can the cereals blocked in the port.

Coming out of Odessa, thousands of trucks loaded with Ukrainian wheat head for the Romanian border every day. Alec, a trucker, took more than two weeks to deliver wheat to Constanta in Romania. Two weeks to cover 500 kilometres. “Our work is much more difficult today. There are many trucks there at the borders… Thousands! And of all kinds!” Before the war, he made this trip in two days. “When you go to the border, you have to wait five or six days on the side of the road, without showers, without toilets. Everything is complicated: customs, bribes at the border…”

It will take months to export to Europe, North Africa or the Middle East the 20 million tonnes of grain that Ukraine still has in stock. 20 million to which will be added the 30 million tonnes from the upcoming harvest.

This situation of blockade is synonymous with economic disaster for the country. The consequences are already visible here in Odessa. From the terrace of his apartment which dominates the 32 km of coastline of the city, Vadim Terechiuk, is desolate. He is a municipal councilor of Odessa, in charge of economic affairs.

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“Today, not only the port is shut down, there are also the dockworkers’ companies, the wholesale market which is the largest in Ukraine, the warehouses, the logistics …”he says, as the port of Odessa stretches out the window. “It is very difficult for me to see this situation. We have worked hard to convince our foreign partners to invest here in Odessa in recent years. 300 million euros have been invested. And then there are also all these unemployed families. I can’t look at this situation without feeling pain”.

In the suburbs of Odessa, we meet at his home Alexander. He suffered the full force of the blockade of the port. Before the war he was a waiter on a cruise ship. Odessa is the first tourist city in Ukraine. “The seasonal contract has ended. And now the company will only be able to hire us again after the end of the war. There, we no longer receive any money”. Here in Odessa, one inhabitant in three has a job related to port activity.