Russia will try to illegally stop merchant ships in the Black Sea – expert
The foreign expert believes that Ukraine has something to answer.
Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher for naval armaments and military research at the Royal Joint Institute for Defense Studies in London, suggested that after withdrawing from the “grain agreement” the Russian Federation would try to illegally stop merchant ships in the Black Sea.
The specialist stated this during a briefing at the Ukraine-Odessa media center, commenting on the statements of Russia and Ukraine that any ships heading to the ports of the two countries will be considered to be heading with military cargo.
“Now the Russians are mining the north of the Black Sea… They will become more aggressive and may indeed try to stop ships, but they will not fire at them because of a possible international reaction. In addition, they will not come close to the Ukrainian coast because of concerns (about) the Neptune anti-ship missiles that Ukraine has,” the expert believes.
According to him, despite the fact that the Russian Federation now dominates the Black Sea, Ukraine has something to answer. In particular, the expert believes that Ukraine can use missiles, and there are static targets in the occupied ports that can be hit.
“You can use sea drones, which have already been creatively used against ships in Sevastopol and against the Kerch bridge …. Ukraine has something to answer, but the question is in the resources spent,” Kaushal notes.
The situation in the Black Sea after the failure of the “grain deal”
After withdrawing from the “grain agreement” on July 17, Russia began a massive attack on Ukraine’s port infrastructure and agricultural enterprises. In particular, in the Odessa region, the invaders have already destroyed tens of thousands of tons of grain and oil. The aggressor attacks not only the ports of Greater Odessa, but also the Danube ports, which are located in the south of the region, not far from the Romanian border.
The Russian Federation also threatened to attack all civilian ships heading to Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said: they will regard these bulk carriers and tankers as carrying military goods.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that the United States is not ready to announce any measures to support merchant ships.
At the same time, US Chargé d’Affaires at the OSCE Catherine Brooker said that Russia could be preparing a new provocation in the Black Sea to blame Ukraine for it. In particular, the aggressor country mined the approaches to the ports of Ukraine to undermine civilian ships.