In mid-October, the State Hydrographic Service started pulling buoys near the Belarus border. Every fall, about 1,000 navigation devices are removed from 1,000 km. Usually, the lower Dnipro is navigable through early January. In spring, the locks start opening in early March. Last year, the Kyiv lock worked for 7.5 months — from April 2 to Nov. 14. With no major river ice expected through January, climate change may extend the shipping season.
In mid-October, the
