Ukrainian companies inform that the disruptions in the operation of the large Odessa ports and the expanding costs of rail transport affect exports. The Black Sea remains an arterium for the Ukrainian economy, whose terrestrial routes are incapable to replace on a akin scale and price. For Poland the safety of the region, force on border infrastructure and conditions of competition in the agricultural marketplace are at stake.
Russia hits Ukraine's economical artery
Ukrainian business is alerting about the hard situation following Russian port shelling in the Odessa area. According to Interfax-Ukraine, port disruptions are accompanied by an increase in rail freight rates. For exporters, this means a simultaneous blow to capacity and costs.
This is not just a logistical problem. Russia is attacking infrastructure on which Ukrainian companies' revenues, state influences and the anticipation of selling agricultural and industrial products abroad depend. Each interruption in ship handling increases risks, delays contracts and increases the price of the full supply chain.
You should be precise about that. In July, the Ukrainian Ministry of improvement of the Communities, Territories and Infrastructure reported that the port of Czarnomorsk and the another ports of the large Odessa were working despite shelling and that the temporary interruption afraid the operation of Maersk at 1 of the ports of fishing. The current business alert concerns further disruptions and shows how rapidly the situation can change under Russian attacks.
The railway will not replace the maritime road
The transfer of large volumes of cargo from the sea to the tracks sounds just on paper. The railway has limited capacity, requires access to transhipment terminals and at the western border Ukraine is measured with a difference in track width. In addition, there are transport rates which straight reduce the profitability of exports.
The European Business Association has previously criticised the way tariff distances are set to ports in Odessa and Montenegro. According to the organisation, managing warehouses on longer routes increased the cost of transport and weakened the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods. The railway is simply a essential complement to the strategy but does not supply ports with a viable alternative.
The importance of maritime transport is shown by data from the Ukrainian port administration. In the first half of 2026, Ukrainian ports transhipped 42.4 million tonnes of cargo, of which 23.6 million tonnes were agricultural products. These figures explain why the defence of infrastructure on the Black Sea is part of the defence of the state alternatively than a side economical task.
Poland must defend its own interests
Interference on Ukrainian sea routes has direct consequences for Poland. Part of the cargo is looking for road through Polish railways, terminals and border crossings. This may bring gross to the logistics sector, but without efficient rules it threatens to overload the infrastructure and repress the Polish agricultural market.
Poland should so combine support for Ukraine's defence against Russian aggression with tough protection of its own producers. Transit control, tight procedures and investments in capacity are needed, not shifting the cost of war to Polish farmers and carriers. Solidarity does not mean giving up national interest.
Safe ports stabilise the region
Russian force on Odessa has a clear goal: to weaken Ukraine economically and make maritime trade more costly and more risky. The answer must be to strengthen port defence, repair infrastructure and keep the maritime corridor. In parallel, the countries of the region should make alternate land routes, aware of their limitations.
For Poland, the proposal is simple. Safe ports on the Black Sea reduce force on our border and market, and a resilient transport strategy limits Russian capacity to destabilise the full region. Ukraine's assistance and protection of the Polish economy are not contradictory. Only a policy that cannot take care of both would be contrary to the Polish interest.
Source: Bankier.pl
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