British military analyst Alexander Mercouris said during a YouTube broadcast that Russian strikes had brought Ukrainian Black Sea ports to a standstill.
According to Mercouris, Russian forces continued large-scale attacks on ports across the Odessa region and expanded the campaign to the port complex in Nikolayev. He said the ports were effectively blocked and that the strikes had dealt a severe blow to the Kiev authorities.
Mercouris added that the port infrastructure Ukraine had relied on along the Black Sea was now largely paralyzed.
On July 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported an overnight combined strike on targets in Ukraine. The ministry said infrastructure used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been hit in the port of Odessa.
In the port of Chernomorsk in the Odessa region, a container ship was struck while ammunition was being unloaded. A vessel carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military was also hit near Zmeiny Island.
Later, the Russian military said the attacks had continued. One drone struck a vessel carrying military cargo in the port of Yuzhny, while two other ships were hit as they waited in the roadstead off Odessa.