(CNN Spanish) — Russia’s war in Ukraine is now three months old and Russian forces continue to bomb various Ukrainian cities, while the number of deaths and refugees rises. See the main news for this Wednesday, May 25:
Declassified US Intelligence Documents Show Ukraine Bloc
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has effectively halted all maritime trade at Ukrainian ports, according to recently declassified US intelligence documents, cutting off a critical export product for Ukraine and risking a global food crisis.
In the months since Russia moved to invade in February, it has established an “effective blockade” of the northern third of the Black Sea, according to a US official who provided a declassified map of the region to CNN on condition of anonymity.
The map analyzes the density of ships entering and leaving Ukrainian ports before and after the start of the conflict, showing an almost complete drop in commercial traffic to Black Sea and Sea of Azov ports after the start of the invasion. A third map offers a current visualization of the density of Russian naval vessels clustered in the Black Sea off the Ukrainian coast, highlighting “hot spots,” according to the US official.
“The impact of Russia’s actions cannot be understated, as Ukraine’s seaborne exports are vital to global food security,” the US official said, echoing the general assessment of Western analysts and government officials.
Ukraine provides about 10% of the world’s wheat exports, the official noted, the vast majority of which leave the country through Black Sea ports.
a bit of context: Before the war, Ukraine was the world’s fourth largest exporter of corn and fifth of wheat, according to the US State Department. Nearly 30% of world wheat trade came from Russia and Ukraine alone.
The United Nations World Food Program – which helps fight global food insecurity – buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year and has warned of dire consequences if Ukrainian ports are not opened.
Last week, CNN reported that the US and its allies are discussing how to safely develop routes to transport grain from Ukraine amid concerns about global food supplies.
New satellite images released by CNN on Monday seem to corroborate Ukrainian claims that Russia is also stealing grain depots that have been sitting idle in commercial ports.
Since the start of the conflict, Russia has intimidated commercial traffic, occasionally preventing safe passage to Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and, most visibly, stationing warships off the Ukrainian coast and shelling Ukrainian ports. said the US official.
Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports is “clear blackmail”, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Storage silos and transport cranes in the port of Odessa, in Ukraine, on January 22. (Christopher Occhicone/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Russia is trying to “blackmail” the international community with an offer to unblock Ukrainian seaports if sanctions against it are eased, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday. .
This is “clear blackmail,” Kuleba said. “You couldn’t find a better example of blackmail in international relations.”
He warned that if Russia does not lift its blockade on Ukrainian crop exports, the entire agricultural cycle will be disrupted and could lead to a “multi-year food crisis.”
Before the war, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and fifth-largest wheat exporter, according to the US State Department. Nearly 30% of world wheat trade came from Russia and Ukraine alone.
Speaking at a round table, Kuleba said Russia and Ukraine are nowhere near the possibility of a negotiated peace and Russia has no intention of participating in discussions aimed at ending the war.
“When you carry out an operation like this, you basically say no to negotiations. If Russia had preferred talks to war, it would have behaved differently,” he said.
Making concessions to Russia hasn’t worked since 2014 and won’t work now, Kuleba said.
“This strategy has been used by major world forces from 2014 to February 24, 2022. Making concessions here, making concessions here, will help prevent war. It has failed. Eight years of this strategy has resulted in missiles hitting Kyiv and bloodshed in Donbas,” the foreign minister said.
Kuleba again demanded more sanctions against Russia, specifically the cessation of the purchase of Russian oil, which according to him keeps Moscow in a comfortable position.
“Ukraine is suffering more than Russia from the sanctions against it. … After three months of war, my message is simple: end Russian exports. Stop buying from Russia and letting them earn money that they invest in machinery.” of war to kill and destroy,” he said.
Zelensky Says He Will Only Be Able To Talk To Putin When Russia’s President Comes Out Of His ‘Alternate Reality’ ‘Bubble’
Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky speaks via video during a working breakfast at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Victor Pinchuk Foundation)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that he will only be able to talk to Vladimir Putin when the Russian president returns to the “real world.”
“Once the president is ready to come out of his bubble of this alternate reality to the real world and talk to us, understand that a lot of people are being killed, including civilians, maybe then he’ll understand that we need to start talking and he needs to end this war that he launched, that his country is waging against us,” Zelensky said via video link at a breakfast moderated by Fareed Zakaria in Davos.
This is not the first time that world leaders have accused Putin of being out of touch with reality when it comes to his motives for the war in Ukraine.
Putin said the Kremlin invasion was started to protect Russian-speakers from genocide at the hands of “neo-Nazis,” despite a lack of concrete evidence. Although there is a far-right battalion in Ukraine that plays a role in the resistance, Putin has exploited the fighting forces’ neo-Nazi ties as a pretext for war. Shortly after the invasion began, he referred to the country’s leaders in Kyiv as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis,” even though Zelensky is Jewish.
US intelligence services assessed in March that Putin’s advisers were not adequately briefing him on the state of the war, including Russia’s early battlefield failures.
Russian missile attacks recorded in Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Ukrainian officials
Ukrainian officials reported Russian missile strikes in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and southeastern Zaporizhia region on Wednesday, causing extensive damage.
The Russian army launched four cruise missiles on Zaporizhia on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Regional Council. One missile was shot down by the city’s air defense, he added.
In an update, the council added that at least one person was killed and three others were injured, and 62 buildings were damaged in residential areas of the city.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said there had been constant air raid alarms overnight.
“The enemy fired three missiles at Kryvyi Rih this morning,” Reznichenko said. “An industrial company was hit. There is serious damage. We are clarifying the information about the victims.”
British retailer Marks & Spencer exits the Russian market
British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced that it will “exit completely” from Russia in the face of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“M&S is a value-oriented business, therefore, as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, we ceased shipments to Russia on March 3, 2022,” the company said in an annual results report released on Wednesday.
“Subsequently, we have made the decision to exit our Russian franchise entirely and have recognized a charge of 31 million pounds ($38 million) in adjusting items, representing our full costs of exiting Russia and business interruption. in Ukraine”.
a bit of context: M&S is the latest in a growing line of companies that have abandoned or scaled back operations in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began.
On Monday, Starbucks said it had “made the decision to exit and cease to have any brand presence in the market” after previously pausing operations and halting shipments of its products to Russia.
Last week, McDonald’s said which was selling its business in Russia after operating for more than 30 years in the region.
The burger chain said “the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitous and unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continuing business in Russia is no longer sustainable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values. McDonald’s”.