Russia pressures the West by choking off grain supply

The Russian leadership has always acted this way – using terrorism as a form of doing business and making money

Read also: Romania to double Ukrainian grain transit after Russia’s attacks on grain infrastructure

Meanwhile, the news of the large-scale fire that occurred last week near the commercial port of Chef de Bay in La Rochelle (France) went unnoticed. A grain silo caught fire and spread to three neighboring silos. Thousands of tons of wheat were stored there. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

On August 7, a massive explosion occurred near the major commercial port of Derince in Turkey, damaging 13 grain elevators out of 60 at the site. At that time, the silos were primarily filled with wheat and a small amount of barley. The cause of the explosion in the Turkish port has not yet been established.

All of this might not be noteworthy - fires happen all the time - but we must pay more attention in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, the aggressor state announced its withdrawal from the grain deal, after which it began a systematic destruction of Ukrainian port infrastructure and the grain stored there. The Russians also announced a blockade of Ukrainian ports, threatening to destroy ships trying to overcome the blockade.

Of course, all these actions led to an increase in world grain prices. We now have fires and explosions at grain terminals in France and Turkey, which will obviously also impact price growth.

Read also:

• Danube port hit, grain storage facilities damaged in two overnight drone attacks by Russia

• Odesa port sees first ship departure in a month, vessel sails along new corridor to Bosphorus

It all looks very suspiciously like a single system designed to accomplish several tasks:

1. Increase food prices in the world, which should provoke inflation and instability in various parts of the world;

2. Increasing grain prices should bring super-profits to the Russian leadership, which has taken care to drive Ukrainian competitors out of the market using the usual terrorist methods.

The Russian leadership has always done this, using terrorism to do business and make money.

Read also: Putin raising stakes with grain blackmail

In addition, the Russian authorities may try to induce the collective West to negotiate and reach some kind of "agreement" by threatening the creeping spread of instability worldwide. Here we can also recall several recent military coups in Africa under direct Russian influence. The most striking example is Niger, where apparent agents of Russian influence have come to power and are now cutting off uranium supplies to France, which is very significant given the development of nuclear energy in this European country.

Terrorism, destabilization, famine, and military juntas – and, as an "alternative," concessions and "compromises." This is the system that the Russian authorities are trying to drive the West into.

Read also: US not ruling out ‘military solutions’ to ensure Ukraine can export grain – WSJ

However, there is one problem. Who can guarantee that these terrorists will suddenly stop using their methods if they are suddenly negotiated with? Why should those who have been using terrorist methods all along suddenly switch to other means? Perhaps it is time to call out terrorists for what they are? So far, attempts to "limit the escalation" have only resulted in Russia successfully spreading this escalation worldwide.

We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine