However, Ukraine's largest port was never really an ethnic Russian city. Second, if he is not permitted to control Odesa, he is willing to destroy it.įor many years, the imperial-minded leader has been obsessed with Odesa because it was founded in the late 18th century by Russian empress Catherine the Great, who is one of his role models. Putin is sending two messages: First, if the world doesn't pay his price, he is willing to starve poor nations. One civilian building hit by flak from the shot-down missiles was near my interpreter's apartment.
Tuesday's deafening attack in the middle of the night with drones and cruise missiles - the harshest on Odesa since the war began - destroyed most storage facilities for sunflower oil and some grain silos. Canada rightly called the renewed blockade " the weaponization of hunger by the Russian Federation."Īs I wrote back then, and reemphasize now, if any Western leaders still nurse fantasies about talks with Putin to end his war on Ukraine, his disdain for the grain deal proves they are fools.Īnd once again, Putin's hunger games are reinforced with missiles. Putin is playing a game of food blackmail, trying to get Western countries to loosen sanctions on certain Russian banks if they want the Ukrainian grain to start flowing again. The day after signing the U.N.-brokered deal, Russians shelled Odesa's port facilities, as if to warn: "Don't think this deal protects you."Įxactly one year later, I returned to Odesa just as Russia pulled out of the deal, once again threatening global food supplies. ODESA, Ukraine - One year ago, just as I arrived in this historic port city, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop blockading Ukraine's grain exports and fueling a famine in Africa and the Middle East.
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