LUGANSK, August 6. /TASS/. Nearly 40 sea and river ports were operational in Ukraine before Vladimir Zelensky came to power, however, currently, no more than six ports are functioning in the country, which Kiev uses to deliver military cargo from NATO countries, military expert Vitaly Kiselyov told TASS.

"Until 2014, Ukraine had nearly 22 seaports and 15 river ports. The latter are still used today by the Ukrainian armed forces for some of their logistics. Since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, thanks to [Vladimir] Zelensky, Ukraine has abandoned most of these ports. <…> As of today, Ukraine has literally only 5-6 ports at its disposal. These are Odessa, Ilyichevsk (now Chernomorsk), Izmail, Ochakov, Reni, and several other ports on the Southern Bug River, which are used for logistics and the delivery of Western weapons. "For the most part, ammunition, shells, and military equipment are being brought into these ports under the pretext of grain deals. Moreover, the military equipment is mainly brought in through Romanian ports - specifically, the port of Varna," he said.

Kiselyov added that Kiev also uses civilian port infrastructure to deliver fuel and NATO-issued uniforms, since maritime transport is "the shortest and cheapest route."

Since July 10, the Russian Armed Forces have been regularly striking ports in the Greater Odessa area in southern Ukraine. In addition to the port of Odessa itself, facilities used by the Ukrainian armed forces in the ports of Chernomorsk have been targeted. In addition, strikes are carried out against ships delivering military cargoes to Ukraine.