Responsible Statecraft’s George Beebe situated Ukraine’s loss of the port of Odessa and, more generally, of Black Sea shipping, in terms of Zelensky’s much-vaunted, though disastrous, '40-day’ campaign. The latter included Ukraine targeting Russian shipping (including Iranian ships going to Russia). This was done in spite of the fact that Russia, for the sake of Ukrainian grain getting to Africa and elsewhere, had allowed Ukraine to ship their produce via the Black Sea over the last four years.
Such forbearance on Moscow’s part has now gone up in smoke with Zelensky’s '40-day’ campaign, in part a military campaign, but primarily a public relations campaign. Beebe explains: “Only a handful of months ago, Russia was conducting few military operations against Odessa.” This was the by-product of the ‘Grain Deal’ of 2022. “For some four years thereafter, the Odessa port system remained open to Ukrainian imports and exports, handling some 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural trade. Russian hardliners bristled at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to attack Ukraine’s vital but vulnerable port, grumbling that Putin seemed more interested in avoiding rifts with Global South states than defeating Ukraine.”
