© (Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure / UKRAINE'S STATE EMERGENCY SERVICES VIA FACEBOOK (Reuters.)Russian launched a second day of 'massive' strikes against targets in Ukraine.
Comment: Whooo boy. A lie in the very first sentence. Well done, Fox News.
Russia did not "pull out" of any deal. The agreement had an end date, after which new terms would be negotiated regarding its renewal. Considering that Russia was never afforded the concessions it was promised in the first iteration of the "deal" (SWIFT access for the agricultural bank, unimpeded transport of its fertilizer, grain sent to the poorest countries, not Europe to feed livestock), plus Ukraine's blatant abuse of the safe corridor to smuggle weapons by sea, is it any wonder Moscow declined to renew it?
Russia halts participation in Black Sea grain deal until all sides of agreement are met in full
Russian missiles and drones hit targets along Ukraine's Black Sea coast overnight and into Wednesday morning, with an Odesa military spokesperson calling the strikes a "truly massive attack," according to a report from the BBC.
The strikes were the second consecutive night of attacks on the region and came after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that had been in place since last summer allowing Ukrainian grain exports to reach countries that face the threat of hunger. The Kremlin claimed that its exports demands under the deal were not being honored and pulled out of the deal just hours before launching the attacks.
Comment: Although Russia had been signalling for weeks that they were mulling letting the agreement lapse upon its end date, a second attack on Kersch Bridge was probably the final straw:
"A difficult night of air attacks for all of Ukraine," Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said in a social media statement, according to the Associated Press.
Popko said that the attacks around Ukraine's port infrastructure injured at least 12 civilians, though there were no reported deaths.
According to Ukrainian officials, the Russians launched Kalibr cruise missiles, Onyx supersonic and Kh-22 anti-ship missiles, and kamikaze drones. Ukrainian forces were able to shoot down about 37 of the missiles, according to officials, but many did manage to make their way through defenses.
Comment: Nah.
"I saw a red flash in the window and reacted immediately," a resident in Odesa told Reuters. "I went downstairs, it was noisy and filled with smoke outside, people were in panic, some were crying, glass shards were scattered all over. It was impossible to remain in the area."
© OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople look at fragments of a missile shot down during a night strike in Odesa on July 19, 2023.
"Putin hasn't just blown up the Black Sea Grain Initiative; now he has hit the port city of Odesa with a hail of bombs for the second consecutive night," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter. "In doing that, he is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain. Every one of his bombs also hits the world's poorest."
Comment: Annalena Baerbock is second only to obstetrician Ursula von der Layen in her ineptitude in foreign policy matters, being a single-minded, elitist warmonger.
Russia has called the attack a "mass revenge strike," coming after an attack on a Russian-built bridge over the Kerch strait that links Crimea to mainland Russia. The attack killed a Russian couple, according to the Kremlin, and resulted in section of the bridge being knocked out.
Ukrainian officials have hinted that its forces were responsible for the attack on the bridge, according to the Associated Press, but stopped short of claiming official responsibility.
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
She beckons.
~
She whispers in your ear..
there is a portal here...
please save it...
~
She beckons.
The war continues.
Odessa - for U.
~~~~~
Poem of the Day, BK, 71923 1713