Russia Attacks Ukrainian Grain Ports
Putin opts not to travel to South Africa for BRICS to avoid arrest
The Black Sea Grain Initiative ended as Russia didn’t get what they wanted and decided to attack the grain ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv instead and destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain. They also declared any vessel headed for a Ukrainian grain port would be considered hostile and would be attacked. That means any vessels escorting Ukrainian cargo vessels would be according to the Russians, a legitimate target.
The UN has failed again, and while Ukraine urges other countries to assist in escorting cargo vessels, the price of wheat shot up overnight.
Meanwhile, in Belarus, the Wagner group seem to be making themselves at home where Prigozhin was seen on a video to be welcoming soldiers to the new base. An announcement that the Wagner group and Belarusian troops are to hold military drills on the Polish border (Brest) was made. This is how wars extend outside the original areas of conflict, and NATO really should be doing more. Perhaps they are quietly (I hope so) because Russia really doesn’t seem to be scared of NATO or the UN. Russia also knows the use of false flag scenarios would delay any actions as NATO and the UN would always take time to investigate matters before taking action, and those investigations can take months.
What we are seeing are consequences of inaction and procrastination by international alliances. However, we don’t wish to sit back and wait for war to happen, but then again I feel that is just what we are doing.
Day 510 (18 July)
The European Parliament is requesting that the ICC issue an arrest warrant for Lukashenko of Belarus for his part in assisting Russia in crimes of aggression against Ukraine.
In addition it has been reported that the head of the Belarus ICRC (Red Cross) also assisted with the transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia, using Belarus as a transit country.
In an address at the UN, Kuleba urged those in international human rights groups to seek access to the kidnapped children, and for the UN to consider international laws to punish such crimes and methods of returning the children back to Ukraine.
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric power plant will be rebuilt and will take 2 years, but while planning work can start now, construction can only start once the de-occupation of the territories has occurred.
Convoys of vehicles that belong to the Wagner group have entered Belarus. Satellite images show that there are more than 100 units in the new camp near Osipovichi.
Parts of the Shahed drones used to attack Ukraine have ‘Made in Ireland’ stamped on them. Many parts appear to have originated from the West, hence why sanctions need to be tighter.
The damage to the Kerch Bridge has been revealed. One span cannot be repaired and repairs to other parts will be completed in September and November 2023. This will slow down the movement of Russian troops and equipment from Russia into Ukraine.
Poland sent two brigades to the border with Belarus in response to the movement of the Wagner group troops setting up a base within Belarus.
Russia launched attacks on Odesa and claimed it was in retaliation for the Kerch Bridge in Crimea being attacked. More than 20 drones were launched aimed at Odesa around 2:30 am.
The G20 two-day meeting ended but no joint statement was issued as several countries disagreed on the issue of Ukraine. Some countries are still being neutral or possibly support Russia silently.
General Surovikin has been reported to have been removed from his position. However, no further information was given, and no one has seen him either. Many expect him to fall out of a window by accident or fall foul of another tragedy.
The European Court of Human Rights has struck out Russian claims agains Ukraine. The claims were of alleged violations of human rights since 2014 such as imposing restrictions on the use of Russian as a language.
The court concluded that the Russian government no longer wish to pursue the application as they had repeatedly failed to reply to its correspondence.
Day 511 (19 July)
The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar visited Ukraine, paid his respects in Bucha and held talks with Zelenskyy. He also stated he would launch an investigation into the illegal supply of components to Russia.
Another Ramstein meeting (14th) was held to discuss the defence of Ukraine. Lithuania is creating a coalition for de-mining in Ukraine.
MI6 has been recruiting Russians who oppose the Russian government as spies, and suggested that they could defect in order to end the bloodshed on all sides.
Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa and will be represented by Lavrov instead. The reported reason is security concerns, but it is because there is no guarantee that Putin will not be arrested as per the ICC rules.
Prigozhin , the Wagner leader has been seen on video allegedly greeting soldiers arriving in Belarus. The Wagner group and Belarusian army will hold joint training exercises in Brest, near the Polish border.
Day 512 (20 July)
Croatia has offered the use of the railway lines and ports on the Adriatic Sea for Ukraine to export grain due to the failure of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the Russian threats to vessels in the Black Sea. They also said there would be areas on the international waters of the Black Sea that would be ‘temporarily dangerous for navigation’ implying that the waters are mined.
Russian formally announced that all vessels sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports would be deemed hostiles and would be fired upon.
From 00:00 Moscow time on 20 July 2023, all vessel sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo. Flag states of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime.
Wheat prices rose by 8.5% since Russia refused to renew the grain deal and the overnight strikes had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain in Chornomorsk, as well as the port infrastructure that will take a year to repair. The gain had been ready to be exported 60 days ago, but had been held up by Russian delays.
The credibility of the UN has been dealt another blow, as if it is unable to broker and maintain the grain deal, then how will they cope with a world war? The UN replaced the League of Nations in order to keep the peace and to prevent war, and needs to do more or it needs to be reformed again to keep up with the needs of the international community.
Russia attacked more Ukrainian grain ports causing damage to civilian infrastructure as well as the ports themselves.
The Polish Internal Security has dismantled a Russian spy ring who had been spying for the GRU. 15 people were detained and are citizens of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine and could face sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
At least 6 Russians who support the war are part of the International Olympic Committee, and some are even part of the Russian army. This is why the IOC need to take a firm stand on Russia and Belarus participating in the Olympics.
The SBU state they have detained a railway worker in Dnipro for allegedly spying for Russia, and for helping to plan air strikes in the region.
The Belarusian ICRC said they were unaware of the activities of the head of the Belarus Red Cross, who made a trip to occupied regions of Ukraine to remove Ukrainian children.
We were not made aware of the visit, nor were we involved in any of the activities, including those with children.
The visit and activities associated with it were not coordinated with the other components of the Red Cross as required by our internal rules.
Wicked and shameful. Poor vulnerable people who have nothing to do with this fight will starve because of Russia’s evil actions. When will the world be rid of this wicked inhuman dictator?