The ports of Ukraine are of geopolitical and strategic importance, at least because they are a large transport hub in Europe. 70 foreign ships have been blocked at six Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odesa, and Yuzhny).
The corridors for the civilian vessels willing to leave the Ukrainian ports are secured by the Russian Navy on a daily basis from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. At the same time, the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) granted no security for civilian ships, so there is still a danger of entering the Black Sea. Moreover, not all mines in the Black Sea have been defused and some are still drifting in the waters.
On May 25, the Russian Defense Ministry managed to open the first humanitarian corridor for foreign ships from Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops have removed all mines in the waters of Mariupol. The way towards the Black Sea was secured. The humanitarian corridor is 115 miles long and 2 miles wide. At the moment, Russia is restoring port infrastructure.
In the Sea of Azov, the Russian Navy has inspected more than 1.5 million square meters of water area, 18 berths, and 32 vessels so far. In the port of Mariupol 134 buildings were examined for weapons and over 12 thousand explosive objects were found. So far, the Russian Army has already transported a Ukrainian patrol ship. Sappers have inspected more than 50 km of the Azov Sea coast and 300 different munitions have been defused.
Meanwhile, Britain claimed its support to the Lithuania’s plans to lift Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain. The countries called to create a naval coalition of the willing to lift the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain. European countries are concerned that there is no way to get the grain out except through the port of Odesa. The countries are stressing the need for an alliance to protect the civilian cargo ships in the area. Lithuania urged all the countries affected by the grain shortage, such as Egypt, to join the coalition. The military preparations are justified by the global food crisis. It is claimed that in 5-7 weeks, the grain shortage will be particularly acute, and it will affect the countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also noted that Ukraine needs to export at least 80 million tons of wheat this year, and the only way to export grain is through the port in Odesa. In this light, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of an impending famine as 41 undeveloped countries import a third of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia.
A plan for a coalition is yet to be approved, but London will need to negotiate with Turkey first, as Ankara holds control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and regulates the transit of naval warships within the framework of the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits. Lithuania says the mission will be “non-military and humanitarian”, but warships and military aircraft will be involved. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wants to see British ships involved in the mission and that Britain will provide long-range weapons to Ukraine and is already discussing the plan with allies because Britain needs to solve the food problem. In turn, the Guardian reports that the UK does not intend to send its ships to the Black Sea to help export grain from Ukraine.
The EU will continue to assist Ukraine and make every effort to resume supplies. Lithuania, on the other hand, will deal with the issue and possibly build a railroad through Belarus or the Baltics, although transportation problems may arise.
Amid the military projects of Britain, Denmark’s readiness to supply its US-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Ukraine to fight the Russian Black Sea Fleet are especially alarming and reveal the non-humanitarian goals of the declared coalition. These missiles could change the balance of power in the Black Sea. However, it will take time to train the AFU and there will still be problems in terms of technical integration, most likely Harpoons could be used in months. Harpoon missiles were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War. The U.S. itself has approved deliveries to Ukraine from Denmark. If the missiles are successfully used, it will be difficult for the Russian Black Sea Fleet to reach the shores of Ukraine. In this case, the Russian Federation may accelerate its combat operations in Odessa before the missiles are deployed with the Ukrainian military.
If foreign warships enter the Black Sea under the pretext of escorting the civilian ships with grain, this would inevitably lead to the war between NATO and Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said that in such a case Russia would be concerned about escorting the ships with grain, especially if they were British ships. Russia, on the other hand, will conduct a dialogue on lifting the blockade in the UN. Consultations at the UN are underway at the moment. Moscow is reportedly ready to secure the passage of foreign civilian vessels to transfer the Ukrainian harvest out of the country if the sanctions imposed against Russia are lifted. The sanctions against Russian but not the blockade of the Ukrainian port in Odessa are the main reason of the upcoming global food crisis.
The bottom line is that the food crisis is a pretext for Britain to provoke direct military action between NATO and Russia, triggering World War III. Although Lithuania says that NATO ships will not be used in the humanitarian mission, London will not be in control of the operation. The claimed “humanitarian mission” supposed to be implemented by military means may not be realised without hostilities.