Russia comes up with excuse for their strike on Port of Odesa
OLENA ROSHCHINA — SUNDAY, 24 JULY, 2022, 12:08
Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova admitted that the missile strike on the Port of Odesa was carried out by Russian troops, but came up with an excuse for it.
Source: Maria Zakharova on Telegram
Quote: "Kalibr missiles destroyed a military infrastructure facility in the port of Odesa with a high-precision strike, thus sending a Ukrainian military boat to the address beloved by the Kyiv regime."
Details: This was Zakharova’s comment in response to the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia's cynical strike on the Port of Odesa on 23 July was barbaric and proved the impossibility of the dialogue with the Russian Federation.
Representatives of the Russian Federation had previously assured the Turkish side that "they have absolutely nothing to do with this attack."
Later Evgeny Popov, member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, admitted in a conversation with BBC Newshour that the strike on the Port of Odesa had been carried out by Russian missiles: he claimed that missile systems had been the target of the strike, that Harpoon missiles had been allegedly destroyed in the port.
"We have not violated the Istanbul agreement. We simply destroyed the military infrastructure of Ukraine – and we will do it again," Popov said.
Why this is important: Russia continues to talk about the legality of its actions in Ukraine, although it has no ‘legitimate’ military goals. Ukraine has not attacked the Russian Federation, and the Kremlin has not even declared the war and is calling this aggressive invasion a ‘special military operation’, regularly changing its arguments and goals.
On 22 July, the agreement to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports for the export of Ukrainian grain was signed in Istanbul. Ukraine has not signed any documents with Russia directly: the "Initiative on the safe transportation of grain and foodstuffs from Ukrainian sea ports" was signed separately by representatives of Turkey, the UN and Ukraine, and separately by representatives of Turkey, the UN and Russia.
On the morning of 23 July, Russia launched a missile strike on the port of Odesa, where grain is stored, but hit a pumping station, the fire broke out.
