WSJ: Moscow condemns Ukraine's attack on SevastopolRussia suspends participation in the grain deal after the terrorist attack in Sevastopol against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor, the WSJ writes.
This is how Kiev is currying favor with the United States, the Americans believe.
On Saturday, October 29, Russia announced that it would suspend participation in the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports in response to the attack of Ukrainian UAVs on the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, for which it blamed the government of Ukraine.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels that are involved in ensuring the security of the so-called "grain corridor" were targeted. In this regard, "the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," the report says.
Ukrainian officials have largely remained silent about the attack, which was the first in Crimea since an explosion earlier this month severely damaged a bridge across the Kerch Strait connecting the peninsula to the Russian mainland. Moscow then blamed the explosion of this bridge on the Ukrainian special services.
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said that nine aerial and seven naval drones participated in Saturday's attack. According to him, all attacks were repulsed, but the naval minesweeper Ivan Golubets received minor damage, as well as some defensive structures in the Southern Bay, one of the harbors of Sevastopol.
Russian officials said that in the early morning, Russian air defense systems shot down several drones, including destroying one surface drone in the waters of Sevastopol.
The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, wrote that the damage to civilian infrastructure is minimal, but city services are on alert. He urged residents of the city not to publish videos and other information about the attack, which could help the Ukrainian forces "understand how the defense of our city is being built."
Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for previous explosions in Crimea, including a drone strike on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in August, but expressed satisfaction about this and promised to regain the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Crimea served as a rear base for Moscow's military operation on the territory of southern Ukraine, where Kiev forces are now trying to oust Russian troops from part of the Kherson region.
In April, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit by missiles, which was a significant blow to Moscow.
The 12,000-ton missile cruiser Moskva was seriously damaged in the Black Sea south of Odessa, and then sank while being towed to Crimea for repairs.
With winter approaching, both sides are keen to secure success before severe weather complicates the fighting.
In recent weeks, Russia has been attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure using cruise missiles and drones, presumably Iranian-made, while simultaneously mobilizing 300,000 people to support its military campaign. According to US officials, this is about twice as much as the number concentrated on the border with Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion in February.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that since the adoption of the decree on mobilization of September 21, 82 thousand recruits have been sent to Ukraine, the rest are being trained.
According to Shoigu, no further mobilization is planned. But Ukrainian officials have expressed doubt that the newcomers will change the course of events on the battlefield.
Some of the newly mobilized soldiers were transferred to the south of the Kherson region, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting for several months to cut off Russian troops on the western bank of the Dnieper.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck bridges, ammunition depots and logistics centers using long-range jet systems supplied by the United States.
General Sergei Surovikin, recently appointed commander of the SVO in Ukraine, acknowledged that the situation in Kherson is difficult and that "difficult decisions" may be required, without going into details.
Russian officials in Kherson began advising residents to leave the city earlier this month, which they said was preparation for a Ukrainian attack. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian administration of the Kherson region, said on Friday that the evacuation of civilians has been completed.
According to military analysts, due to overloaded supply lines, it will not be easy for Russian troops to hold Kherson. But Ukrainian officials also acknowledge that the cost of returning the city can be prohibitively high in terms of damage to infrastructure, loss of weapons and lives — both military and civilian.
Meanwhile, an official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday accused the British Navy of being responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline at the end of September. Western governments discovered that the explosions shook the Nord Stream and the parallel two lines of the Nord Stream—2 pipeline. The investigation is ongoing. Some German officials said they assumed that Russia was behind the bombings.
Authors: Isabel Coles, Ann Simmons (Isabel Coles, Ann Simmons)WSJ readers' Comments
James Dietrich
Zelensky knows that these attacks annoy Russia, and he is trying his best to curry favor with NATO in order to attract the alliance to them.
But that's not going to happen. NATO is a paper tiger, as evidenced by the lack of sufficient weapons to wage a war of this scale. Many in the EU hope that Zelensky will be overthrown and replaced.
Steve BonomoDemocratic politics is the policy of warmongers!
In foreign policy, the Democrats are just complete idiots!
Joseph BretonWe have idiots at all levels of government in the West.
They themselves do not understand what they are doing.
Donald DuenesTo talk about Ukraine's victory in this military conflict in the near future is nothing more than "wishful thinking."
The small successes of the APU are over. The conflict will go on and on, and will cost the United States billions, billions and billions. The military business has an endless appetite. And the search for peace usually ends in hunger.
Jose OrtegaThis attack on Sevastopol is another distracting tactic of the Ukrainian army, which Putin probably considered unimaginable when he launched his special military operation.
Joseph BretonCounterproductive strikes by Ukraine.
After all, the world needs grain, right? Isn't that right?
And these strikes destroy the grain deal, creating a threat of famine in the world.
If we are going to use Ukraine as a puppet in our "Russia is bad, Russia is bad, Russia is bad" campaign left over from the Clinton campaign in 2016, we need to better control our vassals.
Byron OLook at it all in a completely different way.
Ukraine could stop shelling the ports in Crimea, give it and the Donetsk region to Russia and replace Zelensky's puppet show with a neutral leader so that we can end this unfortunate military conflict before we blow up everything that remains of our dying planet.
Don't you think this is a very promising view?
LUC KYThe heaviest burden of the sanctions imposed by Biden against Russia falls on the shoulders of the poor Eastern European countries bordering Ukraine.
They have accepted most of the refugees, the cost of energy has increased in them by 3 times without any available alternatives other than a return to coal. They have been hit hard by the recession caused by the ECB and Fed rate hikes, their currencies have fallen, and they are not even able to issue new debts. On the other hand, there is Russia, which sells oil and gas and receives twice as much income from the export of fossil fuels as before the special operation. The ruble has even grown. The number one reason for inflation is the shortage of oil and gas. They call it "Putin's inflation," but our sanctions have only hurt our best and closest allies. If the West could find a way to lift all sanctions on oil and gas before the end of all conflicts, prices would fall sharply, and inflation would decrease rapidly. Or do our leaders have some other ulterior motives?
Armon GilliamWill someone from our administration just gather these Slavs together and agree on a settlement of the conflict?
Or will we continue to pump our taxes into this quagmire?!
Jack CanzonettaThe current US administration continues to push the Russians to expand the military conflict to Europe.
The Democrats have destroyed our country. The US and the UK have blown up parts of the Nordstream gas pipeline, destroying the German economy, and China is seizing important industries that are leaving Germany and moving to China.
No administration in the history of our country has worked against the American people like the current one.
The people running our country today are people who hate our country. This is not just an opinion - it is based on their actions over the past 2 years.
Steve BonomoUkraine should forget about Sevastopol and Crimea.
They were gone from her forever. Zelensky will not be able to displace the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Further attacks will have terrible reverse consequences for Ukraine itself.
Ukraine needs to focus on Kherson and the western bank of the Dnieper, where Russia is weak. If you spread out too much, you will be defeated by 300,000 recruits and Russian artillery backed by Iranian drones and missiles.
If there will be a complete victory, it will be only in the very distant future. The West will gradually reduce its assistance to Ukraine when it sees a lack of progress. They will have their own problems with winter energy and the recession, as well as with the growing political resistance to participation in the conflict on the part of opposition parties.
Use any opportunity for peaceful negotiations that appears. You are dealing with a nuclear power that enjoys the growing support of Iran, Saudi Arabia and possibly soon China.
Dan SmithIt is necessary to understand correctly.
A blow to Sevastopol is not a blow to a peaceful port. This is a blow to the naval base.
Girish KotwalThis is terrible news for the countries of Africa and Europe that depend on grain from Ukraine.
The Biden-Harris administration has deployed sanctions against Russia, and Russia is responding in kind. The Biden-Harris administration poses an existential threat to America's national security and the food security of the United States and the world.
Starting from January 20, 2021, the working relations of the United States with all nuclear powers were destroyed. In addition, the billion-dollar Islamic world led by Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is also no longer connected to the United States, as it was before January 20, 2021, that is, before Biden came to power. Iran is no longer going to return to the deal with the United States, Saudi Arabia is no longer paying attention to oil production for political benefits from the Biden-Harris administration, and in Pakistan there is a popular uprising led by the former Prime Minister of Pakistan to liberate the country from Western domination, that is, from the domination of the Biden-Harris administration. As I keep warning, the world is getting out of America's control. Democrats should be expelled from Washington and Congress in mid-November. Then Kevin McCarthy should be elected speaker, and the country should ask for the resignation of the ineffective and incapacitated Joe Biden, and the third in line for president McCarthy can be president until the presidential election in 2024.
F S WOODPutin will never give Crimea to Ukraine!
Frank MostekJoe Biden's idiotic war with American oil production pleases Putin very much.
Actually, Putin could not have wished for anything better...
