“I would like to tell the world hungry for Ukrainian wheat that today we can produce up to 90 percent of what we reaped before the Russian attack. But the problem is the infrastructure to export it. Putin’s navy blocks our ports on the Black Sea, we are bombed every day, with the Europeans we are organizing railways and road transport ».
Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Olexandr Kubrakov, explains to Corriere the details of the state of Ukraine in the grip of the Russian war. The attack on the Kramatorsk train station is new, he says. They had taken it into account, “but the Russians had never done it, until three days ago they had hit the moving convoys all over the country from the air. Since February 24th we have 72 railway employees killed and a hundred injured, as well as several victims among the passengers ».
But «the biggest problem is the bridges. We hit some of them to stop the Russian advance, but the vast majority of them bombed them. I would say that as a result of the Russian aggression, about 300 road and rail bridges were destroyed. Up to now, between 30 and 40% of national roads and railways have been damaged. In addition to this, the 12 main airports are out of order ».
Then there are the ports: “Our entire access to the Black Sea is blocked by Russian ships. The three most important ports cannot function. Mariupol and Berdiansk were limited since the Russians controlled the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, but are now stationary. The damage is very serious, up to 23 February 80 per cent of Ukrainian exports passed through the sea ».
The granary of the world is therefore paralyzed. Or rather, explains Minister Kubrakov, “we produce wheat almost as before, only some fields in the south are affected by the conflict, I would say 10% of the cultivated land by eye. But we can’t get him to travel. Europe, many African and Middle Eastern countries are waiting ».
Now, «we are working with our European partners, we have also talked about it with Ursula von der Leyen here in Kiev. The solution is to resort to rail and wheeled transport. Italy has become a promoter since our full entry into the European Union and this will be of great help, customs times will be eliminated and the bureaucracy at the entrance of our exports will be greatly simplified. It was already talked about before the war, now everything has been speeded up and already by May our trucks will have no problem traveling to Europe. Last summer I had been on a visit to the Ministry of Transport in Rome and the procedures had begun, which are now being completed ».
Kubrakov also quantifies the damage of the Russian invasion: “The first month of the war at least 36 billion dollars and only for what concerns the transport infrastructures, to which are added the power lines, water pipes and much more, there is a lack of overall rating”.
Europe is helping by guaranteeing «banking facilities and loans. They are also considering turning over the frozen or requisitioned assets of the Russian Federation as a result of the international embargo. Another project concerns a special fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine ”.
Meanwhile the war goes on: «We have won the battle to defend Kiev. But we are still in the middle of the war, now the Russians are concentrating on the Donbass, where they intend to launch a major offensive shortly, which in fact has already started in Izium or near Mariupol. The Russian army is still strong. We must study our tactics carefully: if we were to move too many soldiers east, they could return to focus on Kiev ».
And he adds: “It seems strange, yet yes, we are still resisting even Mariupol and the Russians are forced to disperse a lot of forces to try to take it.”
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