<
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/12/long-before-bombing-ukraine-putin-waged-a-trade-war-he-is-still-losing-it>
"Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was shutting down the
Black Sea to Ukrainian agricultural exports.
The reason, ostensibly, was Ukraine’s second attempt to cripple the Kerch
Bridge, Russia’s main artery to the Crimean Peninsula and key to its ammunition
logistics.
A massive explosion caught on camera in the small hours of July 17 left a
section of road deck hanging askew over the Black Sea.
In December, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk,
confirmed the SBU had developed the Sea Baby drones used in the operation.
In retaliation, Russia said it was withdrawing from an agreement allowing the
shipment of Ukrainian grain out of the Black Sea, brokered a year earlier by
the United Nations and Turkey to prevent hunger among the world’s poorest.
Marking its withdrawal, Moscow launched an overnight missile attack on
Ukraine’s Odesa and Chernomorsk, two of the three ports authorised to export
grain under the initiative, destroying grain silos, fuel oil and loading
equipment.
Two days later, Putin revealed the real reason for his change in strategy.
In a staged conversation with his agriculture minister, Dmitry Patrushev, Putin
said Russian farmers had lost $1.2bn and Russian fertiliser manufacturers
$1.6bn, roughly half their profit margins, due to high costs for shipping,
spare parts and financial transactions."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
