Odessa-Reni highway traffic restored following drone attack
Ukrainian authorities announced on Sunday, December 21, that traffic on the Odessa-Reni route is now fully restored in both directions.
While the road is open, freight transport from southern Ukraine—including trucks carrying vital supplies and humanitarian aid—will be temporarily rerouted through the Republic of Moldova to streamline logistics.
Traffic on the M-15 Odessa-Reni highway resumed after a temporary suspension caused by a fatal drone attack on Thursday, December 18. The strike tragically claimed the life of a woman and left three children injured. Oleksii Biloshitsky, deputy head of the Patrol Police, confirmed the reopening via Telegram, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
During the suspension, the State Border Guard Service enforced temporary restrictions at the Moldovan border. Moldovan authorities closed the Mayaki-Udobne-Palanca and Starokozache-Tudora crossing points to manage the security situation.
To assist travelers, additional carriages have been added to train services connecting Kyiv and Odessa to Chisinau. This rail link between Odessa and Chisinau was recently reinstated for the first time since 2022, according to Unian.
Ukrainian Railways reported an immediate surge in passenger interest. The demand was so intense that 60% of tickets for the Odessa-Chisinau route sold out within three hours, while 93% of seats were booked for the departure from Kyiv.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
