Russia's Strikes on Ukrainian Ports Revive a Black Sea Blockade

Russia is trying to turn the Black Sea into "a second Strait of Hormuz," Ukraine's acting foreign minister warned, as strikes on Ukrainian ports and commercial vessels prompt shipowners to stop calling at the country's main maritime export corridor. The grain and metals moving through those ports are Ukraine's economic lifeline, and a sustained blockade would squeeze Kyiv's finances at the same moment the war is straining Western weapons stockpiles.