The grain corridor — a Black Sea shipping route that handles 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports — has not been officially closed, but it is under enormous strain as Russia steps up missile attacks on Odesa Oblast, Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), told the Kyiv Independent on July 24.
"The S-400 position in Gelendzhik ... was ablaze and sputtering for three hours," the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Rober "Madyar" Brovdi, announced.
"There are things that do not depend on Ukraine, because it's like with Russian ballistics, there are elements from other countries," Zelensky said.
Did Ukraine's largest deep-strike campaign achieve its goal? In this episode of Ukraine This Week, Anna Belokur examines the results of Ukraine's 40-day campaign of long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia – whether it shifted the balance in the war, weakened Russia's economy, or changed the Kremlin's political calculations.
Overnight, Ukrainian forces downed 174 Shahed-type drones and five Banderol missiles, the Air Force reported on Aug. 9.
Sehrii Lysak, head of the Odesa City Military Administration, reported that buildings have been damaged in several districts of the city. Car fires were also seen in Odesa.
Ukraine's military reportedly launched a wide-ranging drone attack on the Russian city of Belgorod overnight on Aug. 9, Russian Telegram media channels reported.
The Kyiv Independent’s Business Desk covers the biggest news in business, economics, and tech from Ukraine, as well as global developments that shape the economy of the region.
A Belgian factory continues to operate in Russia's special economic zone known as a key defense production site despite EU requirements to leave the zone by late January 2026.
