In the early months of the invasion, in 2022, the Russians tried to suffocate Ukraine’s economy by imposing a naval blockade of its ports. About 20 million tons of grain got stuck in the port city of Odesa, causing global food prices to spike and raising fears of famine in parts of Africa and the Middle East that rely on supplies from Ukraine.

Ukrainian sea drones on Wednesday hit and disabled a tanker involved in trading Russian oil as it sailed through Ukraine's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk,

Ukrainian special operators described to Business Insider how they came under Russian fire driving buggies near the front lines.

The aerial bombardment followed a night of attacks in which Russia fired three ballistic missiles and 151 drones, Ukraine’s air force said.