NATO protection needed to make grain deal work - Guardian
Before the weekend, an agreement was signed that would allow the export of grain from three ports of Ukraine to be unblocked. And it would alleviate the global food crisis. But before the ink was dry, the Russian army launched a missile attack on the port of Odesa, where they were just preparing to resume exports.
This is stated in the material of The Guardian, Censor.NET informs.
This is clearly the behavior of a despot whom the world cannot trust. However, it can also be an act of desperation. MI6 chief Richard Moore told a security conference in the US last week that the Russian army was about to "exhaust itself", says Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert on chemical and biological weapons at Magdalen College, Cambridge University.
As noted, Putin approached the war with Ukraine as if it were a World War II tank battle. And it is not surprising that his tactics in the spirit of the 20th century could not withstand the weapons of the 21st. But Russia's experience in Syria shows that when traditional means do not work, Putin quickly turns to unconventional ones. In Syria, this meant the beginning of the bombing of hospitals and schools, the blocking of aid and the use of chemical weapons. In Ukraine, another Russian war crime is happening before everyone's eyes, even after the grain agreement was signed. This is the transformation of food and fuel into weapons. If this is allowed to happen, the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons is only a small step away. Especially since Russia has already threatened all this.
The weaponization of food has already caused prices to rise. Because of this, millions of poor people in Africa and Asia were at risk of starvation. The grain agreement, which was helped to conclude by one of the NATO countries, namely Turkey, should help deliver food from Ukraine to these countries. But any security guarantees for ships that will carry food, especially after the Russian attack on Odesa over the weekend, should be viewed with skepticism.
"As soon as these ships enter international waters from the Odesa side, they should immediately come under the protection of NATO fighters. The Russian Air Force has shown that they are not even equal to the old Ukrainian aircraft. And they will definitely not be able to become a threat to advanced NATO fighters," he writes author.
The agreement also removes certain sanctions from Russia, allowing it to receive large revenues from the sale of its own grain and mineral fertilizers on international markets. This, of course, will help Putin rebuild his broken army. The war in Ukraine also became one of the reasons for the growth of inflation in Great Britain and other countries.
"So helping Ukraine defeat Russia is the fastest way to get the economy back to normal. If that means sending troops, ships or planes, so be it, if it helps ensure that Putin's war crimes in Ukraine don't also affect people in need around the world. Russian troops have committed many war crimes in Ukraine. And the UN seems unable or unwilling to act. That's why NATO should do it," the author believes.
In Ukraine, as in Syria, Putin seems to have wanted to spit on collective harm or the rules of war. He sees the destruction of civilians as the fastest route to strategic victory. Unfortunately for him, the Ukrainian people demonstrated that they are ready to fight back against the aggressor. NATO must demonstrate the same courage and support Ukraine to the end.
