46M tonnes of products exported from ports of Odesa region this year

Oleh Kiper, head of the region's military administration, said this during the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa on Friday, Ukrinform reports.

He said that as there is no access to ports in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, the Odesa region has become a single logistics center, and today almost 80% of all cargo moves through the region's ports.

"Despite the naval blockade and enemy shelling, we managed to reach 50% of the pre-war turnover today. Since the beginning of this year, 46 million tonnes of products have already been exported through the ports of the Odesa region - this is 70% more than last year's figure," Kiper said.

He noted that despite the difficult situation, Ukraine does not stop supplying food to other countries.

"The deliberate destruction of ports in the Odesa region creates prerequisites for food shortages in the world even now. But hunger should not be used as a weapon, and Ukraine continues to feed the world even in difficult times," Kiper said.

He added that priority needs for the region should be air defense systems and coordinated actions of international partners in the issue of demining the Black Sea water area as these measures can strengthen global food security.