Russia Strikes Odessa Port After Signing Deal to Unblock Ukrainian Grain Exports

[Nevilledog]

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Aaron Rupar
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"Russia is a terrorist state" -- Russia agreed to not attack Ukrainian ports and then attacked a Ukrainian port hours later
Russia Strikes Odessa Port After Signing Deal to Unblock Ukrainian Grain Exports
wsj.com
Russia Strikes Odessa Port After Signing Deal to Unblock Ukrainian Grain Exports
The strike appeared to violate the terms of the agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Friday, which stipulated that both countries would refrain from attacking port facilities or...
10:29 AM · Jul 23, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-hits-military-airport-and-railway-station-in-fresh-ukraine-attack-11658571374?mod=hp_lead_pos1

No paywall
https://archive.ph/3fy6F

KYIV, Ukraine—Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine’s key grain-exporting port of Odessa, officials said, hours after signing an international agreement to ease its blockade of the Black Sea coastline and allow for the safe transport of grain and other foodstuffs necessary to alleviate a looming global food crisis.

The attack on Odessa appeared to violate the terms of the United Nations-brokered agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Friday, which stipulated that both countries would refrain from attacking port facilities or civilian ships used for grain transport, according to a copy of the agreement reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike, saying in a statement that all parties had committed to ensuring the safe movement of Ukrainian grain shipments.

At least two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles hit Odessa, the only major Ukrainian port resisting Russian occupation, damaging infrastructure at the site, Ukraine officials said. Another two of the missiles, which Russia has been launching from warships and submarines, were shot down by aerial defenses, officials said.

A railcar discharging point and a warehouse used for loading grain were destroyed in the attack, according to international grain traders.

The target of the strike was likely a nearby shipbuilding yard, workers at the port said.

“It’s obvious that the agreement with Russia is not even worth the paper it was signed on…Russia is a terrorist state,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, who was present at the signing of the agreement.

*snip*

[Grasswire2]

1. Timothy Snyder from today (unrolled thread, easy to read)

[link:https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1550884611533770752.html|

Putin's rule is weakening. 0/
We now regularly hear now from people aside from Putin (for example former prime minister and president Dmitri Medvedev) about the meaning of the war, the catastrophic consequences that await Ukraine and the West, and so forth. This is a sign that Putin is losing control. 1/
Usually the news coverage of such pronouncements focuses on their content. It is tempting to get caught up in the Russian fear propaganda. But the real story is that people aside from Putin now feel authorized to make such proclamations. Before the war there was less of this 2/
The doom propaganda serves a couple of purposes. On the surface, it shows loyalty to Putin. At a time when Russia is losing, the best hope is to convince the West that Russia is somehow unstoppable (which it isn't – like the U.S., its history is littered with defeat in war). 3/
At the same time, the doom propaganda is rhetorical preparation for a power struggle after Putin falls. 4/


If Russia loses the war, the people saying radical things now will have protected themselves. For my part, I tend to see the drastic proclamations as evidence that important Russians think that Russia is losing. 5/
I'm not convinced Medvedev, who for years was seen as the liberal alternative to Putin, believes the antisemitic, anti-Polish, anti-Western hate speech he publishes on Telegram. He's creating a profile that might be useful later (just as his technocrat profile was once useful) 6/
Another interesting example is Ramzan Kadyrov, who has run Chechnya as his own personal satrapy since he helped Putin win the Second Chechen War. Kadyrov commands a kind of personal armed guard that appears alongside the Russian army in its foreign wars. 7/
In Ukraine, Kadyrov's men have arranged matters so as not to have taken very many casualties. From the perspective of his own interests, this makes sense. They are available for a future power struggle in a post-Putin Russia. 8/
Kadyrov now proposes that Russia locate air defense systems in Chechnya. His justification is that Ukraine might attack Chechnya, which is not credible. It sounds more like he is preparing for a post-Putin Russia in which Chechnya would claim independence. 9/
Another sign of weakness for Putin is the army itself. The argument over whether Russia is winning or losing can be made in military terms. 10/
But the army itself is a source of Putin's political strength. The claim of its eternal invincibility is a consistent element of Putin's own propaganda. 11/

much more at thread reader link above

[elleng]

2. Russian Strikes on Odesa Raise Doubts About Grain Deal.

A Ukrainian official said that Russian strikes had caused 10 explosions in Odesa on Saturday, one day after the warring sides agreed to a deal to help transport millions of tons of grain out of that port and others on the Black Sea.

ODESA, Ukraine — A string of explosions rocked Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa on Saturday, hitting one of the country’s most important ports less than 24 hours after a deal was signed to secure the transit of millions of tons of grain through Black Sea routes.

The strikes risk undermining the deal to facilitate the shipping of Ukrainian grain, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, before the agreement could even be put into action. The deal was seen as critical for shoring up global supplies after a steep drop in Ukrainian grain exports raised fears of food shortages in poorer nations.

Ukraine’s southern military command said on Saturday that Russian forces had fired four Kalibr cruise missiles at Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port. “Two rockets were shot down by air defense forces, two hit port infrastructure facilities,” it wrote in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Officials said it was the first time since the war began that the port in Odesa had been targeted.'

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07/23/world/ukraine-war-russia

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. Proposed solution:

Put the Ukrainian grain on ships from NATO countries, with a NATO military escort.

Putin can choose between allowing the grain through, or sinking the entire Russian fleet in the Black Sea.