In Odesa, no-one is safe from Russia's new Black Sea strikes
Russian missile and drone strikes on Odesa's port infrastructure have intensified, causing civilian casualties and severely disrupting Ukraine's commercial shipping. Port workers describe a climate of constant fear as Russia attempts to isolate Ukraine's economy.
Why it matters
The escalation of attacks on civilian maritime infrastructure threatens global food security and the economic viability of Ukraine's export routes.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Russian missiles and drones are hammering Ukraine's Black Sea ports, like Odesa
"My crane operator, my partner, died five metres from me… The driver remained in the cabin. He also died."
Svitlana Halchenko winces as she remembers the Russian ballistic missile which exploded at work in Odesa, killing her colleagues.
Svitlana works as a warehouse shift manager at the city's main port.
Despite her injuries – she walks with a limp, pieces of shrapnel still embedded in her leg and back – Svitlana is determined to keep working.
But her normally bustling workplace is largely silent.
Russia is ramping up its efforts to strangle Ukraine's commercial links to the outside world, launching attacks all along the country's Black Sea coastline.
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