Russia intensified this Friday the attacks that it has carried out daily since Tuesday against the port city of Odessa with the launch of two rounds of missiles in a single day, within the framework of its operation to blockade the Ukrainian Black Sea coast after leaving the grain agreement.
For four nights in a row, Russian forces have hit port facilities dedicated to the export of grain and other infrastructure of the Ukrainian agricultural industry with missiles and drones, but the second attack today was in broad daylight.
Why is there a blockade in Ukrainian ports?
After abandoning the agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain, Russia declared that it would consider suspicious of transporting war material and, therefore, a potential military objective, any ship that sailed to the ports of Ukraine.
Unpredictable actions and, moreover, kyiv’s involvement in terrorist acts undoubtedly create a potential threat in this area
And to support the seriousness of this announcement, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on Thursday conducted exercises to destroy missile boats, isolate the northwestern maritime area that Moscow has closed to shipping and detain potential offenders.
At the same time, after these actions, Russia denounced that Ukraine endangers navigation in the Black Sea with its announcement that it will consider all Russian ships heading for Russian or Russian-occupied ports military objectives.
“Unpredictable actions and, moreover, kyiv’s involvement in terrorist acts undoubtedly create a potential threat in this area”said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. He insisted that the “kyiv regime does not disgust anything and therefore these statements directly pose a danger.”
What does Russia say about the blocking of the agreement?
After the threats from kyiv, andhe Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin clarified today at a press conference that Russia, before acting against ships heading to Ukrainian ports, will stop them to inspect them and check that they are not carrying weapons.
Vershinin described as “dangerous and unrealizable” the option of having warships escort the departure of grain ships from Ukrainian ports, commenting on information that points to the possibility that Turkish Navy ships could carry out this task.
In the midst of this crossover of statements, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated that the reactivation of the grain agreement, which allowed the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, it is possible if the West meets Russia’s demands.
“Russia also has some expectations. If they are resolved, Russia is in favor of the operation of the grain corridor,” Erdogan said. The Kremlin has insisted that “as soon as the Russian part” of the agreements is fulfilled, Russia will “immediately” re-implement the agreement.
Moscow calls for reconnecting Russia’s agricultural bank, Rosseljozbank, to the SWIFT international banking system, lifting sanctions on farm machinery spare parts, unlocking transport logistics and insurance, unfreezing assets and resuming operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, which exploded on June 5.
Why is the end of the agreement a threat to hunger?
Erdogan warned that the end of the Black Sea Initiative, the official name of the grain agreement, will mean everything from rising global food prices to starvation in some regions, as well as new waves of migration..
The UN today directly accused Russia of putting the food security of developing countries at risk with the decision to withdraw from the grain agreement.
“The events of the past week are just the latest developments in the Russian Federation’s senseless war against its neighbor, a war whose consequences are being felt around the world,” United Nations Political Affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said.
EFE
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