Russia escalates bombing of Ukrainian ports, raids Chinese consulate
Since withdrawing from the pact, the Russian government has been raining missiles nightly into Odesa and Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s two largest port cities. Thursday’s strike appears to have been the worst yet.
Odesa Governor Ole Kipel posted online an image of the Chinese Consulate General building with broken windows. Located in the city center of Odesa, just across the harbor tracks.
“Invaders are deliberately attacking port infrastructure. Nearby administrative and residential buildings have been damaged,” Kuiper said on Telegram.
China’s foreign ministry said the shockwave from the explosion “destroyed some of the consulate’s walls and windows.”
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In Mykolaiv, firefighters fought a massive fire that blew up a pink-plastered house into ruins. Several other residential buildings were also damaged.
Moscow described the port attack as retaliation for Ukraine’s attack on Ukraine. Bridge to Crimea in Russia on monday. The government said on Thursday that retaliatory attacks were continuing and that all targets in Odessa and Mykolaiv had been achieved.
In its most obvious threat so far, the Russian military announced Thursday morning that all ships bound for Ukrainian waters may be carrying weapons and that their flag states would be considered parties to the war on Ukraine’s side. He said some areas of the Black Sea have been declared dangerous.
In response, Kiev announced a similar measure on Thursday, saying it would also consider ships heading to Russia or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories as carrying weapons.
The US government argued that the Russian threat was a signal that Russia might attack civilian vessels. Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said Russia had no such preparations.
cluster bomb
The escalation in the Black Sea situation comes after Kiev reported a renewed attempt by Russia to return to an offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which it said had amassed 100,000 troops and hundreds of tanks.
White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby said US-supplied cluster munitions are being deployed to the scene as part of Kiev’s fight against Russia.
“We’re getting some initial feedback from Ukrainians, and they’re using it very effectively,” Kirby said at a press conference. He added that cluster munitions are affecting Russia’s defense formations and maneuvers.
Ukraine has promised to use cluster munitions only to eliminate concentrations of Russian enemy soldiers. Many countries have banned munitions containing many small submunitions that rain fragments into an area as a potential danger to civilians.
Since last month, Ukrainian forces have been marching in the east and south, recapturing small territories in the first large-scale counteroffensive since last year. But progress has been slow and they have not yet captured Russia’s main defensive line.
U.S. wheat futures surged 8.5% on Wednesday as the Black Sea expanded, before rising on Thursday, the biggest one-day rally since the early days of Russia’s invasion last February.
European commodities traders said major grain importers in the Middle East and North Africa responded calmly, but there was no panic buying as safe shipping routes ended.
Reuters
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/russia-escalates-bombing-of-ukraine-ports-hits-china-s-consulate-20230721-p5dq3e.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world Russia escalates bombing of Ukrainian ports, raids Chinese consulate