Posted on 06/08/2022 5:05:40 PM PDT by blam
At a moment global humanitarian and hunger relief groups are warning of a “catastrophe” for already vulnerable populations particularly in Africa and the Middle East which rely heavily on Ukrainian and Black Sea region grain exports, the United Nations has said it will likely take “months” to de-mine Ukraine’s ports. The war-torn country is the fourth biggest exporter of grain in the world.
Hundreds of merchant vessels had been stranded in the war’s opening months at Ukrainian ports following the Russian invasion, and still nearly 100 remain stuck along with their crews. This week a special advisor on maritime security at the UN’s International Maritime Organization told Bloomberg: “Even if the ports wanted to reopen tomorrow it would take some time until ships could enter or depart.” But it remains that before this, “Completely removing sea mines in the port areas would take several months.”
Image via Yonhap News
The de-mining issue has stalled UN-sponsored negotiations in Istanbul between Russia and Turkey to establish a ‘grain corridor’ to get the vital exports needed for much of the world’s food moving again. Kiev has charged that both the Russian naval blockade as well as Russian forces’ theft of Ukraine’s grain is the reason for the emerging global food and supply crisis, while the Kremlin has long blamed Ukraine for heavily mining its own ports.
Statements from the Ukrainian and Russian governments, as well as in international reports, indicate there are literally multiple thousands of mines up and down Ukraine’s coast. For this reason, Ukrainian government officials have estimated that if it started demining efforts now, it would take a whopping six months to clear the coast of Ukrainian and Russian mines, as cited in The Guardian.
In his latest statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the onus is on the Ukrainian side:
“We state daily that we’re ready to guarantee the safety of vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and heading for the (Bosphorus) gulf, we’re ready to do that in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues,” he said after talks with his Turkish counterpart.
“To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by demining them or by marking out safe corridors, nothing more is required.”
Ukraine has rejected this narrative or that it bears responsibility for placing mines in the face of an invading power. The standoff and firm words on Wednesday strongly suggesting there’s no resolution to the crisis in sight.
“Freight and insurance costs spiked after several merchant ships were hit in the early days of Russia’s invasion, and some shipping companies are still avoiding the Black Sea,” Bloomberg details of a still dangerous situation for Black Sea shipping. “Three mines were detected free-floating in March, two off the coast of Turkey and one near Romania. In the northwest of the Black Sea near Ukraine, commercial ships have stopped operating,” the report adds.
In terms of estimated numbers, there were initially 2,000 commercial ships stuck at Ukrainian ports – but in recent weeks this is down to over 80 international ships which represent some 450 crew members.
Most of Ukraine and Russian grain exports originate at these 9 ports. Russian exports have largely resumed.
But again, even if a deal between Russia and Ukraine to lift the blockade were struck tomorrow, the presence of mines would make it unsafe for commercial maritime traffic:
According to the UN, Russia and Ukraine supply about 40% of the wheat consumed in Africa, where prices have already risen by about 23%.
However, Markiyan Dmytrasevych, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of agrarian policy and food, said on Tuesday that even if Russia lifted its blockade, thousands of mines would remain floating around the port of Odesa, and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the World Food Programme, Petroc Wilton, told Sky News on Wednesday that an already bad situation is about to get a lot worse. “Food prices were already going really, really high,” he said, and explained: “The concern now is that Ukraine is making these things worse, but also because of the impact that the Ukraine crisis is having on aviation fuel costs, (and) is having on international shipping costs.”
He emphasized: “So the real concern right now is that Ukraine will make an already dire situation so much worse.”
“Sorry, won’t believe anything from the Western Media.”
But you’ll believe Putin and the Kremlin (March 6, 2014).
The Kremlin’s English translation of Putin’s words (April 2005 state of the nation address):
“Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.”
Ukrainian naval forces had laid mines on the coast, in the waters of ports, and in territorial waters from the get go. But of course Ukraine blames Russia.
Nothing to do with my post, and nothing saying that he was going to attack outside of Russia.
Odessa should be formally off limits to Russia in the deal.
Not only were the ports mined, they used land mines too. War criminals!
You mean like invading Syria and Iraq?
Russia obviously didn’t put the mines. Ukraine laid it blatantly “to repel marine landing” and it still doesn’t deny it for internal consumption. If you’d hear the comments of their security chief Danilov, he is opposing the Turkish-Russian deal regarding de-mining specifically because he wants mine to stay “for security”.
You guys need some consistency in your propaganda.
Why Russia needs mined to start with? It sank the Ukrainian Navy on the first day.
“For a price.”
Yes! That will be another $50 billion dollars and a hundred tanks (that will be destroyed the instant they cross the border).
If that’s not enough just let us know, there’s plenty more where that came from (the American taxpayer).
And wait till yup see the tab for rebuilding Ukraine.
In post #21, it looks like old, out of context info was given to make it look like Putin wants to spread Communism.
In the article below that Dr. Jordan Peterson provides a link to, it is shown that at a recent, major speech, Putin has publicly rejected Commununism, Fascism, and western libtardism, saying they are all failures and in their stead declared that hard-core Traditionalism should be embraced by everyone. So it looks like Putin wants an expansion of Traditional values.
Jordan Peterson
Putin appeals to his citizens to reject Western “progressive liberalism” not least because it echoes Bolshevism:
https://mobile.twitter.com/jordanbpeterson/status/1481257700403171330?lang=en
Very true if America (as it was before the Ukraine War supporters took over) was divided up and Americans were stranded in HOSTILE countries, then yes, it would be tragic to a Reagan/Trump type American president.
That’s all Putin said regarding Russia, although now it looks as though many of those stranded Russians will again be in their country.
I can see where you’re coming from.
Putin appeals to his citizens to reject Western “progressive liberalism” not least because it echoes Bolshevism:
VERY TRUE: Putin had high schoolers required to read “One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich”, which is a story by Alexander Solzhenitsyn about life in the Soviet Gulag (I’m too lazy to try to find a link, but it was about 15 years ago).
If Americans were required to do the same, they would want NOTHING to do with Communism. But we don’t require it.
“I can see where you’re coming from.”
Thanks, and look at my next post. You can download the PDF. It’s super-powerful and is why I posted about what I did about Russians being stranded in hostile countries.
Good points. Amazing though how, despite various opinions on many things and multiple people being against the invasion though some hane pointed out they think NATO was continually poking the bear and offensively bombed Libya and others though its charter states it s a defensive organization, how some still think Russia is Communist or that Communism is being spread by them.
I’ll check it out.
Odessa should be formally off limits to Russia in the deal.
—————-
Many Russian people argue Odessa must be taken, much support for liberating Odessa, if Putin were to disappear, his replacement would no doubt eat Odessa for lunch..
Fact is Vlad has shown much restraint, like it or not.
That is why Russia keeping out of Odessa must be formalized.
“Good for thee.”
#IntlLaw
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