Photo from dpsu.gov.ua
According to Omelyan, the Russian blockade has caused losses worth about $35.8 million.
Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan says the United States of America and the European Commission are seriously discussing the possibility of imposing sanctions on Russian ports in the Sea of Azov, as well as in the Black Sea region.
"Russia is deliberately destabilizing the situation in the [Sea of] Azov region. Their goal is to do everything possible so that people lose their jobs, as well as to create a socio-economic cataclysm, resulting in protests of people who demand better working conditions. I am grateful to both the United States and the European Commission that made clear statements, namely the continuation of the hybrid war. Sanctions against Russian ports in the Sea of Azov are being seriously discussed now. I hope that the same actions with be made with regard to those in the Black Sea region. This will be tangible from the economic point of view," he told a Ukrainian TV channel on November 14.
The minister added that the Russian side continues to detain vessels heading to the Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
"They involve all their military forces to stop even for a while civilian ships heading to our ports. The logic is very simple: they increase the price of logistics. After all, the demurrage of a vessel is estimated at US$15,000-50,000 per day. The situation affected many European companies that receive products from our ports. This contributed to conveying our position to the European Commission. They realized that due to the Russian blockade, European taxpayers pay more for Ukrainian goods. Therefore, they began to speak in a very different way," he said.
According to Omelyan, the Russian blockade has caused losses worth about UAH 1 billion ($35.8 million).
At the same time, the minister says freight traffic to the Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea will resume next year.
"I hope that after the situation is settled, we will be able to restore freight traffic, and cargo turnover will resume at the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk. I think it will be next year," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, in September, the infrastructure minister called on the world community to support Ukraine's efforts against actions of the Russian Federation, which impedes peaceful navigation in the north-eastern part of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and destabilizes the situation in the Ukrainian sea ports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the Kerch Strait Bridge on May 15. He announced the need to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait immediately after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Originally, the bridge was expected to be built before 2018 and put into operation in the summer of 2019. The bridge affected the work of Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Berdyansk as not all ships can pass under it. As of the second half of April, Russian coast guards launched inspections of foreign vessels bound for and heading from the ports of Ukraine.