Taste of bread, bitter due to war and lie
On July 23, the Russian troops attacked the Odessa port with Kalibr cruise missiles. According to the UN, the first ship with Ukrainian grain was to leave the port that day following an agreement reached by Ukraine and Russia.
Initially, Russia attempted to decline responsibility, “informing” cynically that it does not have any connection with the attack. Representatives of the Russian Federation assured the Turkish side that they have nothing to do with this. Later, the deputy of Russia’s State Duma Yevgeny Popov, in a conversation with BBC Newshour, admitted that Russia attacked the Odessa por.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that it destroyed military infrastructure in the port of Odessa, with a high-precision strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a furious response to reports Russia struck the Black Sea port of Odes with missiles. He said the bombardment demonstrates that Moscow would always find a way not to implement the grain deal struck with the UN, Turkey and Ukraine. “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” he added.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned Moscow on Saturday following the Russian missile strike on Odessa’s seaport. “Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible & again demonstrates Russia’s total disregard for international law & commitments,” Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter.
The missile attack by Russian troops on the seaport of Odessa shows that the Kremlin continues to use food as a weapon, said the US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink.
With the mediation of Turkey and the UN, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement Friday in Istanbul to resume Ukraine’s grain shipments from Black Sea ports -- a diplomatic breakthrough welcomed across the globe.
“Values and principles” in geopolitical context
The European Union needs a new strategy on the war in Ukraine as punitive sanctions against Moscow have not worked, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
“A new strategy is needed which should focus peace talks and drafting a good peace proposal … instead of winning the war,” Orban said in a speech in Romania on Saturday.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s remarks about the ineffectiveness of anti-Russia sanctions are “a classic example of Russian propaganda,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko claimed on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that sanctions are effective, as they have “significantly reduced” the capabilities of the Russian military, while Western arms supplies have helped to save the lives of Ukrainians.
The scandalous statements of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban can be explained by the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised him a part of Ukraine, namely Transcarpathia, in exchange for support, said the opposition Russian politician and human rights activist Mark Feigin. He is sure that Orban has long been “schemed” in various schemes.
“Ukrainians are fighting not only for their future”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss assured that her state would provide Ukraine with more assistance after each Russian missile hitting Ukrainian cities. The aggressor must lose, so the UK must help the Ukrainians push the Russians out of their land.
Truss stated this, addressing the participants of the second summit of first ladies and gentlemen, which takes place on July 23 in Kyiv.
“We know that Ukrainians are fighting not only for their future but for democracy, future, and sovereignty as such. That is why the victory of Ukraine is important for all of us. With every rocket that hits Ukrainian cities, with every man, woman and child suffering, we will provide more,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said.
“Expansion of operation” is a bluff. Larger share has been the goal
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region continues to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces hold the line, British military intelligence said.
Even if Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow is expanding its military objectives in Ukraine and aims to seize control of entire southern regions, the expansion of the borders was the initial goal of the invasion. Now they consider holding referendums in the occupied territories and Lavrov’s statement seems to be opening the way for these to also cover other territories, according to experts.
