When Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea after its full-scale invasion last year, grain that could feed millions worldwide piled up in silos. Roughly half the world’s supply of the neon used in lasers to make chips was taken off the market. But while Russian ships menaced off the Ukrainian coast, the small ports in the Danube river on the Romanian border kept working, offering a small but vital lifeline. Now, two weeks after the collapse of that deal, the small Danube ports are the only shipping outlet for millions of tons of grain once again trapped in Ukraine — and Russia has made clear they, too, are under threat. “The Danube is our gateway at sea to Europe and the world,” Stanislav Zinchenko, chief executive of GMK, a Kyiv-based economic think tank, said in an interview.

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Persons: ” Stanislav Zinchenko Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Romanian, Ukraine —, Europe, Kyiv