Global Courant
In desperation, after more than 500 days without being able to break the Ukrainian resistance, Russian troops, on the orders of Vladimir Putin, attack the port of Odessa, on the Crimean peninsula. This enclave on the Black Sea ensured the exit of wheat since the invasion launched in February 2022. Ukraine is the world’s leading producer of this cereal, which is not only key to maintaining price stability in the international market, but also constitutes the main supplier to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and some Latin American countries.
A humanitarian agreement existed to allow these exports to continue, but the Russian government cut it de facto this week to pressure an end to allied aid to Ukraine and also as blackmail to ease economic sanctions imposed against its banking and commercial system. The abusive invasion of Ukraine was an operation that on paper would not take more than a few weeks. However, it is now over a year and a half without any sign of success.
Putin’s pride did not count on the gallantry of the Ukrainian Army and people, led by its president, Volodimir Zelensky. Not only were they never able to capture the capital, kyiv, but they have also lost territories they thought were secure. Now there are disagreements in Russia, especially over the death of thousands of young Russians, which puts the ruler and his ability in serious trouble.
At this point in the conflict, it should have already sought a negotiated solution, as Ukraine has repeatedly requested. However, stubbornness, arrogance and also the economic bill for Russian citizens persist. The blockade on Ukrainian wheat exports makes them lose support, since several trading partner countries are already expressing discontent over the shortage, due to the risk of food insecurity they face. China itself, as an unusual faithful of the geopolitical balance, distances itself from Putin’s stubbornness.
The rest of the world is impacted by forecasts of rising global wheat prices, which implies less support, since it is a fundamental food product for millions of people through the blessed bread and multiple manufactured and processed foods.
The global calls and those of his own people have been ignored by Putin, when there are nine months to go before the elections in his country. In addition, the international economy has been affected by the increase in the cost of fuel, fertilizer, steel and other raw materials, due to the invasion.
In 1905, a massacre of citizens who demanded better working conditions and rejected the arrogance of the Tsarist regime, which they considered unworthy, inhuman and inconsistent, took place in the port of Odesa, yes, the same one that is currently under attack. The massacre perpetrated by government troops would become a symbol of a stage of barbarism that thus laid the foundations for its expiration. The Russian people face undeserved historical damage to their image; any claims invoked do not compensate for the damage inflicted.
