Even before a fully loaded ship could sail into the Black Sea, the much-discussed grain deal that Russia and Ukraine concluded separately with Turkey and the United Nations came under fire.
Moscow did not release a statement until later in the weekend, claiming that it involved an attack on a warehouse of American weapons.
Both countries signed two separate treaty documents on Friday, under the control and care of the UN and Turkey, to guarantee the safe export of grain from three Ukrainian ports. On Saturday, Russia bombarded the largest of those ports: Odessa.
The Ukrainian army said the missiles were cruise missiles, two of which were defused by the anti-aircraft defense system, but two also hit port infrastructure. Ukrainian representatives say the missiles were aimed at a place where grain was stored.
“This proves one thing: whatever Russia says and promises, it will find a way to fail to deliver,” Ukraine’s President Zelensky said in a video statement. He called the attack “barbaric.”
On Saturday there was radio silence from Moscow and Russian representatives against Turkey have even denied having anything to do with the attack. But on Sunday morning, the Defense Ministry suddenly announced that it was a precision strike that hit a Ukrainian naval vessel and a warehouse of US anti-ship missiles.
Russian foreign minister Lavrov implied on Sunday that Moscow wants to overthrow the Ukrainian government in Kiev. “In any case, we are helping the Ukrainian people to free themselves from the (Ukrainian) regime, which is hostile to man and history,” Lavrov said on Sunday in the Egyptian city of Cairo, the starting point of a journey he will embark on in the coming week. Africa makes.
According to Ukraine, 20 million tons of harvest products are waiting to be released and make way for the upcoming harvest. But sea mines and the threat of the Russian Black Sea Fleet mean that no commercial vessel without security guarantees will venture into this much-needed export.
Russian commander-in-chief Putin knows that his hold on the Ukrainian coast is inflicting heavy damage on his opponent’s economy. But it became an increasingly pressing question whether Putin’s allies in Africa and Asia are also blaming the West for a global food crisis, which Russia says is responsible for it with its sanctions. Therefore, Russia seemed to be moving towards a step of de-escalation on the world stage.
Focus
While the eyes were on the Russian offensive in the Donbas for months, the focus is now on the south coast. The access to the Black Sea and the Dnipro River make this part of the country vital to Ukraine.
According to the US Institute for Study of War, Ukrainian armed forces are on the verge of, or have already started, a counter-offensive in Kherson province. The Ukrainians have regained villages in recent months – possible starting blocks for an offensive – but no major conquests have yet taken place.
Referendum
With six HIMARS missiles, the Ukrainians severely damaged a bridge over a tributary of the Dnipro that is important for supplying Russian troops in the city of Kherson. Similar images of missile craters in a bridge over the Dnipro – a crucial link between Kherson and Crimea – have previously appeared.
For example, Ukrainian troops are working to isolate the city of Kherson, which has a strategically important position as a springboard on the north bank of the Dnipro but is therefore vulnerable because of the threat of cutting off the other occupied coastal parts.
The Kremlin seems to rule out such a cut. The occupying power in Kherson province and neighboring Zaporizhzhya has announced the creation of “election commissions” to prepare a referendum with only one possible outcome: affiliation with Russia.