Operations at Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea have effectively been brought to a halt amid continued Russian strikes, retired US Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis said during a YouTube broadcast. In his assessment, Kiev’s efforts to repair damaged facilities are failing to keep pace with fresh attacks.

Davis said the situation is particularly difficult in Odessa and Nikolayev. Ukrainian crews are working to restore destroyed infrastructure, but new large-scale strikes follow and cause further damage. He believes Ukraine may be unable to cope with the task of rebuilding its ports under these conditions.

Another major problem, according to Davis, is the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ inability to effectively counter missile attacks. He said Ukraine has almost no interceptor missiles left, allowing Russian forces to strike selected targets across the country. Some of the facilities being hit require substantial effort to restore, he added.

Russian forces continue to attack enemy targets in the Black Sea area. A vessel carrying military cargo and a tanker transporting fuel for the Ukrainian Armed Forces were hit in the port of Odessa the previous day. A patrol boat was struck in Ochakov, while fuel and lubricant storage tanks and infrastructure facilities were hit in Chernomorsk.