Kim announced that Mykolaiv ports are prepared to resume operations «even tomorrow»

Port on the territory of Mykolaiv, October 2020, archive photo NikVesti

The head of the regional military administration, Vitalii Kim, said that Mykolaiv ports are ready «to resume their work even tomorrow».

He said this in an interview with «TSN».

«Port facilities are not destroyed. There is some damage to terminals where there was oil or empty fuel tanks. One forklift was destroyed there, but our port infrastructure is basically ready to start even tomorrow, said Vitalii Kim.

On 20 January, Ambassador of France to Ukraine Gael Veyer and Head of the European Investment Bank's Eastern Europe Regional Centre Kristina Mikulova visited Mykolaiv ports. In particular, the companies «Nibulon», «Agrofusion» and «Kernel».

Answering a question from a correspondent of «NikVesti», Ambassador Gael Weser said that the ports will allow Mykolaiv to develop in the future and expects «a very powerful leap forward».

«In any case, the port, even in its current state, remains the heart of this city. We are aware of the role it plays in the economic life. We are convinced that the future of this city is linked to the port, so we pay attention to it. Yes, shipping has been stopped, grain exports cannot take place, but all this industrial potential is in place. Everyone is on the alert, and as soon as the security conditions allow, we feel that there will be a very powerful leap forward,» said Gael Veyer.

The French Ambassador and the EIB representative talk to journalists in Mykolaiv, 20 January 2025: Yuliia Boichenko/NikVesti

The main task for today, he said, is to preserve the competencies of Mykolaiv port companies, which will allow the ports to start operating as soon as possible.

«This is exactly what we talked about during our visit to the city. We talked about the need to preserve the competencies that they have developed and acquired over these many years. In order to ensure that as soon as the war ends in one form or another — either through a ceasefire, a truce, or, ultimately, by driving these Russian occupiers away to a sufficient distance — the port can resume its work without wasting time and all this potential can be used,» explained Gael Weser.

At the same time, representative Kristina Mikulova added that the work of Ukrainian ports is important because it supplies part of the world with bread.

«We know you as «breadbasket of the world». It is simply because of Ukraine that most of the world has grain, has bread. For example, after the full-scale invasion, I was still working in Lebanon, I was living in Beirut. And we felt the impact of the full-scale invasion. Because, for example, Egypt did not receive grain this season. We just realised that if there is a war in Ukraine, other countries feel it,» said Kristina Mikulova.

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Mykolaiv ports and the war

The seaports of Mykolaiv region are currently 90% ready for grain exports, but without the consent of the Russians, the «grain corridor» will not be able to function, said Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. After all, Russia continues to shell Ochakiv daily from the Kinburn Spit, as it tries to disrupt the inclusion of Mykolaiv ports in the «grain agreement», the Southern Defence Forces reported.

Back in the summer of 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community to expand the «grain corridor» to include Mykolaiv ports. At the same time, Vitaliy Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv Sea Port Authority, said that the seaports of Mykolaiv region are 90% ready to export grain, but the grain corridor will not be able to function without the consent of the Russians.

As you know, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that Russia would not prevent Turkish vessels from leaving Mykolaiv port and «Olvia». There are 29 vessels preparing to leave Mykolaiv ports.

In November 2022, the Ukrainian side officially appealed to the partners in the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products through the Black Sea with a proposal to extend the initiative for at least 1 year and to include the port of Mykolaiv.

And in July 2023, the Kremlin announced the suspension of the «grain deal», brokered by the UN and Turkey last July, which allowed unblocking three Ukrainian ports for food exports. Since then, Russia has launched massive strikes against Ukraine's port and grain infrastructure, attacking Odesa, Mykolaiv and other port cities.

At the same time, Ukraine's August grain exports in 2023 were at the level of pre-war grain exports by the Mykolaiv Commercial Sea Port. For example, in 2021, the port exported about 12 million tonnes of grain.

Roman Svitan, a military expert and colonel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that to protect shipping in the Black Sea from Russian occupiers, anti-aircraft missile systems should be deployed along the coast from Mykolaiv to Reni.