In two months Ukraine may not have any ports left – spokesperson for southern military command

Ukraine lacks air defenses to counter Russian strikes on its grain infrastructure, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine‘s southern military command in an interview with French journalists on Thursday.

“We need air defense systems. Reinforced, powerful, modern and capable of countering the types of missiles that the enemy uses against us,” said Humeniuk.

Moscow has stepped up strikes on the major port of Odesa and other cities in southern Ukraine since abandoning the Black Sea grain deal, which had allowed the export of 33 million tons of grain in a year.

According to the spokeswoman, Ukrainian Armed Forces need, on top of other things, American F-16 fighter jets, capable of targeting Russian weapons systems and ships used to attack southern Ukraine.

Humeniuk explained that Russia “is improving its tactics every time and does not stop”. According to her, Russian forces simultaneously fire cruise missiles, hypersonic and anti-ship missiles when "the means of air defense are dispersed" and all "are not able to counter this threat" .

“What is happening now is that all ports are blocked. No ship can leave,” she said.

“In two or three months, we may not have a single port left,” warned the spokeswoman, before adding: “Russians want to dominate the Black Sea. They want to have a grain monopoly. They want to destroy Ukraine as a country capable of feeding the world.”