Russian Retaliation

"Such attacks by Russian terrorists are not only affecting our country but also global stability."

"The corridor must be secure. In fact, knowing Russia, it won't be safe unless the UN starts working very clearly and firmly at the level of the secretary-general."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"[If Ukraine cannot export food], the population of the poorest countries will be on the brink of survival!"

"The price of grain will increase, and not all countries will be able to afford buying agricultural products, which means food prices will significantly rise: flour, cereals, meat."

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi

"Putin hasn't just blown up the Black Sea Grain Initiative; now he has hit the port city of Odesa with a hail of bombs for the second consecutive night."

"In doing that, he is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain. Every one of his bombs also hits the world's poorest."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock

Russia bombs Odesa   CTV News

 

Barbarism is never far from the mind of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his bitterly violent responses to a nation that he has attempted to destroy and which is doing its utmost to save itself from utter ruin and the prospect of becoming a helpless satellite once again of a hegemonic nation that sees its neighbours as mere adjuncts to its regional power, whose governments must be subservient to that of the Russian Federation, and whose natural resources are to be controlled by the whim of the Russian governing body of a reluctant, captive 'coalition' of nations.

In striking a blow against the Russia-occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula's role as a Russian possession with its critical utilization as a supply route from Russia into Ukraine, bringing food and oil and military materiel to Russian troops ordered to counter the new Ukrainian counteroffensive and in the process claim greater tracts of Ukrainian sovereign land, Ukraine has been punished once again by the Kremlin's barrage of bomb strikes against its port cities.

Intense drone and missile attacks struck Ukraine a day following a strike on the Kerch Bridge, partially disabling it as a reliable transportation route into Ukraine. Port infrastructure in southern Ukraine was the target. And in the strikes grain and oil terminals were hit. Critical parts of the Odesa export facilities and nearby Chornomorsk were hit, with the results that 60,000 tons of grain destined for shipment to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, were destroyed.

That catastrophic damage to poor countries of the world anticipating delivery of critical gain shipments to lift them from the threat of famine, is not fungible; there are few other sources that could make up for the now-destroyed life-giving food. Moreover, Russia also threatened that any other vessels attempting to pass through the Black Sea carrying food provisions abroad will be considered a threat to Russia and as such will be bombed.

Reuters

 

The damage wrought to the port facilities in Ukraine is estimated to require a full year for repairs to restore the damaged facilities. The grain, now lost, was intended for shipment loaded on a vessel to be sent through the grain corridor and now it is gone. The government of President Zelenskyy is attempting to secure a method of maintaining a safe corridor to ensure grain exports can continue to flow, in spite of Russia's decision to abandon the agreement for safe passage of food.

Wheat prices have already been impacted, rising over 2.5 percent on Tuesday, and 3 percent the next day while the attacks were being conducted on Odesa, a key hub for grain export. Global markets reacting in the wake of Moscow's withdrawal from the agreement, translates to increased hunger in some parts of the globe. According to the region's governor, Oniks and Kh-22 missiles targeted the grain and oil terminals and debris from those struck down hit apartment buildings, seaside resorts and warehouses, sparking fires.

These monstrous assaults on civil infrastructure were described as a "strike of retribution" following the Kerch Bridge attack used for transporting military and civilian supplies. Rail traffic beside the bridge was not affected; maritime drones damaged part of the roadway on the bridge. Further strikes by Ukraine in Crimea hit a military weapons-storage facility, necessitating the evacuation of over 2,200 people from four nearby villages until the concussive detonation of the weapons cease.

"Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports."

"We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks."

White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge

"Russia’s disruption of maritime commerce since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, including blockading ports, delaying ship inspections, and, most recently, withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, has severely choked the amount of grain Ukraine is able to provide to the world amid a global food crisis."

USAID statement 

In this image taken from video provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services work at a scene of destroyed residential area after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, July 20, 2023. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)