A Ukrainian official told POLITICO on Tuesday that all Russian ports and ships, including commercial vessels, are considered legitimate military targets as the war in Ukraine is escalating in the Black Sea.
“Everything the Russians are moving back and forth on the Black Sea are our valid military targets,” said Oleg Ustenko, an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The comments came after Ukraine attacked a Russian commercial port and a Russian tanker. According to Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) sources speaking to the media, the tanker, the Sig, was hit by a sea drone packed with 992 pounds of TNT. The attack blasted a hole in the vessel’s engine room.
Ustenko said the attacks were retaliation for Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s ports after Moscow said it would not renew the Black Sea grain deal. “This story started with Russia blocking the grain corridor, threatening to attack our vessels, destroying our ports,” he said. “Our maritime infrastructure is under constant attack.”
Russia withdrew from the grain deal because it wasn’t satisfied with UN and Western efforts to make it easier to ship Russian agricultural goods, which was another aspect of the agreement. One of Russia’s main demands to renew the grain deal is for its agricultural bank to be reconnected to the SWIFT payment system. Moscow has also accused Ukraine of launching attacks from the corridors that were created to ship grain out of Ukrainian ports.
Over the weekend, Ukraine declared that six Russian Black Sea ports were considered “war risk” areas, signaling that more attacks are imminent. The war in the Black Sea risks a major escalation as several NATO countries have Black Sea coasts, and the US regularly conducts air patrols over the waters. Some of Russia’s strikes on Ukraine targeted ports on the Danube River across from NATO member Romania.
Now that war gets into one of its two its original cores: control of the Black Sea. Ukraine cannot achieve even 50% control of that Sea without retaking Crimea, retaking all lost coastal areas, and massive US naval support in the Black Sea. The analysts who predicted earlier this year that such escalations would become inevitable were correct.
US can’t have any warships in the Black Sea without severe response from the Russian Federation. The imperial pests aren’t that stupid. Violating Montreux Convention will no doubt free Turks from NATO and make imperial positions in the region even more difficult.
Oh No, the mighty Ukranian Navy: a tugboat, 4 kayaks and 5 rubber dinghys.. Well, at least they don’t require a Naval base, since there are none..
That tugboat, 4 kayaks and 5 rubber dinghys… and no naval base, has destroyed half the Black Sea Naval Fleet of the Mighty Russian Navy.
Now, that’s embarrassing.
They certainly are legitimate targets.
So are those routes into Ukraine delivering arms that have been unmolested up to now.
Those are legitimate targets looking for a good excuse to be hit.
The comedian if he does do something beyond his usual bluster will give “permission” for routes from NATO countries to be cut off on the Ukrainian side of those borders and NATO’s complaints will just look hypocritical when it happens.
“Those are legitimate targets looking for a good excuse to be hit.”
Excuse and capability are not pseudonyms.
So the Ukrainians have the capability to hit targets but the Russians don’t?
Try some logic here instead of a kneejerk thought.
If Ukraine has the capability to do this why would Russia not have at least the same if not better abilities to do so?
I am coming to the opinion that our stooge Zelensky is not playing with a full deck But then again neither of the Bidenistas. is either
The guy fighting for the existence of his nation under attack by the Kremlin is a stooge to you. What does that make Putin who attacked and annexed his country? A nice guy fighting for his freedom?
What does that make Putin…?
A liberator! 🇷🇺
Wow, Yes, a liberator of Ukrainians that didn’t want to be liberated.
Putin should continue liberating its neighboring countries. Should try liberate and annex Alaska too.
You’re correct to point out that Russia and putin are not guiltless, and have committed many unexcusable atrocities.
But it is also an undeniable fact that many of the people in Donetsk and Luhansk and Crimea do in fact view Russia as liberators from an oppressive and authoritarian Ukraine.
Funny that, how wars aren’t black and white.
Crimea maybe, the rest not. Donetsk and Luhansk were never Russian majority. They are now after they invaded and annexed.
Why do the majority in the Donbas speak Russian rather than Ukrainian? Why did the people in the areas vote overwhelmingly for the pro Russian candidates in elections?
Ukraine’s borders are fake. They were set by Communist dictators. Time for the Ukrainians to return to Ukraine and leave the people in the East and South to go their own way. The Kiev regime had their chance to have a multi ethnic nation. They chose instead to embrace cultural ethnic cleansing. Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
“Crimea maybe”! HA! shows how incredibly objective you are. If you don’t believe the results of the referendum, sure, but even western sources agree crimea overwhelmingly wants to be part of russia. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/03/20/one-year-after-russia-annexed-crimea-locals-prefer-moscow-to-kiev/?sh=5af5034e510d
But don Julio knows better! Those stupid Ukrainians in crimea don’t realize how bad they have it living in that terrible country with a higher per capita GDP and standard of living than Ukraine.
The only “Maybe” is in regards to donetsk and Luhansk. But even there, it is totally irrelevant what the majority of people in DPR and LPR want, because my claim was this and only this: that many people in the captured areas do in fact view Russia as liberators, and for good reason, following the brutality Ukraine has thrown on them. Whether those many people are a bare minority or a bare majority is quite irrelevant.
March 28, 2022. President Zelensky publicly declares that Ukraine is ready for neutrality combined with security guarantees as part of a peace agreement with Russia. “Security guarantees and neutrality, the non-nuclear status of our state — we’re ready to do that. That’s the most important point … they started the war because of it.”
Man, shove your BS.
Like Putin can be trusted after violating the Budapest Memorandum.
Not my BS. Those are Zelensky words. And he made them AFTER the Budapest Memorandum.
A Russian patriot fighting for his countries future and economy. Can the US say the same?
Kinda yes. But the parasites are fighting to preserve existing slavery in the US and exploitation of populations abroad. Russia is “breaking rules-based order” heh
Or A Russian patriot stealing other countries’ land.
No, the US cannot say the same about that.
… except in Iraq, syria, libya, etc…
Very amusing. Impotent threats akin to Daffy Duck. With Black Sea Initiative out of the way, it will be very difficult to ship weapons and ammo to Ukraine. And you kinda need weapons and ammo to fight a war.
The parasites will try to use newly-occupied Warsaw Alliance countries but land shipments is a logistics nightmare, plus there some other interesting complications …
No doubt that UK made Shadowstrike missiles or US made Himars will take down a Russian cargo ship or two. It would be shocking if they failed to accomplish this.
The point is to escalate the conflict, which from Zelenski’s standpoint is a number one priority. The current situation leads to bad things for him.
Judging from the intensity of the comments here, this will at least be a partial success. The conflict is still a SMO. US bases in Europe have not been hit, and no US mainland cities have been hit. Russia has allowed the US side to bomb a few targets in Russia.
Zelenski is working to change this to full fledged Shock and Awe because it gives him a chance of surviving this thing still alive and possibly a Victor.
I wonder if Russia will play the foreign flag game. It was no coincidence that an Israeli flagged vessel was one of the first ships used to test Russia’s willingness to stop vessels headed for Ukraine.
With a friend like Satanyahu, Putin needs no enemies. (Sarcasm)
Let’s not forget hitting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is another option on his table next to that “whatever” white powder. Not only the Ukrainians, we are all at his MERCY, and I’m afraid there is more bad news–HE HAS NONE! (Sarcasm)
Surely Russia will have a solution for marine drones attacking bridges and ports soon. They are already using frequency jammers for other types of drones. So, we’re probably watching a game of “chicken”.
It’s the economics that interest me. How much will each country lose by closing off the Black Sea? How long can each country sustain such losses?
This is all being done with President Nuland’s Ok. We can ignore the drooling idiot in the corner.
That is all.