There’s a little publicized war going on between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea. From Alastair Crooke at strategic-culture.org:
Does the West’s despairing of Ukrainian military prospects imply a coming draw-down on the war?
Does the West’s despairing of Ukrainian military prospects imply a coming draw-down on the war? Or alternatively, a western strategic shift towards a different mode of attritional war against Russia?
The Ukrainian offensive has petered out – even CNN says it:
“[The Ukrainians are] still going to see, [whether] in the next couple of weeks, there is a chance of making some progress. But for them really to make the progress that would alter the balance to this conflict – I think, it’s extremely, highly unlikely” – an unnamed “senior Western diplomat [told CNN]”.
Yet, as one ‘war front’ bows out, an ‘out-of-view’ war on Black sea shipping has raised its head.
The ‘new war’ might alternatively be called the ‘Grain War’ – as representing the sequent to Moscow’s resiling from the ‘Grain Deal’ last month. To underline Moscow’s serious intent to terminate what, for Russia had proved to be a wholly unsatisfactory affair (amidst a general reneging on its terms), Moscow acted to incapacitate the port facilities of a number of Black Sea ports serving Ukraine, which it said had been used to store weapons (as well as to export grain).
Is there anything left of Odessa and Mykolaiv?
Saw a video of weapons and other contraband smuggled out by the Ukes in grain shipments.
Viktor Bout has some competition on the arms market.
Everyone cashes in courtesy of Uncle Sucker and the OBrandon puppet show.