Just 24 hours after Ukraine orchestrated with the Western allies a deadly kamikaze drone attack that damaged President Vladimir Putin's £3 billion Crimean bridge, which links Moscow to Crimea – a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014, Kyiv accused Russia of intentionally striking grain terminals and infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Odesa. (Related: Ukraine's deadly kamikaze drone strike, orchestrated with help of U.K. and U.S., kills couple and injures teen while damaging Crimean bridge.)
As of press time, one person was killed and about 20 injured, including four children, in the missile attacks that also destroyed the controversial Transfiguration Cathedral, a few houses and apartment buildings. Fourteen people were hospitalized, Governor of the Odesa region Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.
According to Reuters, Moscow has been attacking Odesa for consecutive nights after quitting a deal that allowed the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. "Russian terrorists absolutely deliberately targeted the infrastructure of the grain deal," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Every Russian missile is a strike not only on Ukraine but on everyone in the world who wants normal and safe life."
Moreover, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the attacks' main objective is to destroy the possibility of shipping Ukrainian grain. Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, echoed the sentiment saying, "The Russian terrorizing Odesa proves once again that they need hunger and problems in the countries of the Global South. They want to create a refugee crisis for the West."
Mainstream media outlet CNN was quick to sensationalize the course of events involving the massive strikes, with its Senior Correspondent Alex Marquardt reporting that he's "never seen anything like it." This was directly criticized by the Substack account Simplicius the Thinker, pointing out that this particular reporter may have not been "around in Baghdad in March 2003."
"It's interesting that Western media and officials are making such a big deal about Russia's 'barbaric attacks,' not only from a hypocrisy standpoint – after all, but Kyiv also literally just attacked the Crimean Bridge the other day, killing civilians on camera and now they're complaining that Russia has hit 'civilian infrastructure' in Odesa. But also, the fact that the U.S. has done the same thing many times to no great outrage," Simplicius emphasized.
He also cited a 1990 article from the LA Times that reported that the United States used the exact same strategy during the Gulf War. The 41st President George H. W. Bush back then intercepted and halted all Iraqi sea trade from flowing to the ports. Other Western nations, including Britain, France, Canada and Australia, helped carry out the blockage to further ostracize Iraq in retaliation for invading its neighbor Kuwait.
Zelensky has no plans of surrender and will surely retaliate
Despite Kyiv being bombarded for about four nights in a row, already affecting much of the food supply in Ukraine since it pulled out from the Black Sea grain deal, Zelensky declared not to give up the fight and to definitely retaliate.
"Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral," Zelensky vowed counting on the help of his Western allies. "There will definitely be a retaliation against Russian terrorists for Odesa." For further mind conditioning, President Joe Biden's government is focusing on the propaganda that Ukraine is winning the war at this point in time. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Ukraine has taken back about 50 percent of the territory that Russia seized, despite admitting that Kyiv's counteroffensive will actually last several months.
"It is already taken back about 50 percent of what was initially seized," Blinken told CNN recently. "These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough," he said, adding: "It will not play out over the next week or two. We are still looking, I think, at several months."
Moreover, late last month Zelensky was quoted saying that progress against Putin's forces was "slower than desired" but that Kyiv would not be pressured into speeding it up.
The Ukrainian's claim was easily slammed by Putin when he told the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko that Ukraine's counteroffensive has failed. "There is no counteroffensive," Lukashenko said during talks, according to the TASS news agency before being interrupted by Putin: "There is one, but it has failed."
The meeting is the first the pair have had since the Wagner Group's rebellion in June, DW reported.
Read more about the latest updates on the ongoing brutal attacks between Russia and Ukraine on UkraineWitness.com.
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