KYIV: Russia atta­ck­­ed the southern Ukrai­nian port of Pivdennyi on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, as it ram­ped up strikes on the Od­­esa region along the Bla­ck Sea, hitting energy fa­­­cilities and a critical rou­te to the Moldova border.

Russia has unleashed an almost continuous drone and missile campaign against the region, where ports critical to Ukraine’s foreign trade and fuel supplies operate. The attacks followed Moscow’s threats to cut “Ukraine off from the sea”.

In Pivdennyi, Satur­day’s attack hit a sunflower oil terminal.

“Ukraine’s largest vegetable oil terminal, Allseeds Black Sea, was struck by a bombardment early Saturday,” Allseeds director of trade Cornelis Vrins told AFP, adding that one employee was killed and two were wounded.

The attack destroyed “thousands of tonnes of sunflower oil”, the co-founder of the top seed oil trader said.

The assault also struck reservoirs at the port, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said .

The strikes came a day after a separate missile attack on the port killed eight people and injured at least 30. On Thursday and Friday, Russian forces also targeted a strategic bridge on the Dniester river estuary near the village of Mayaky, Ukrainian officials said.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025