Ukraine said any ships heading to Russian ports may be military targets, a tit-for-tat response to a threat from Moscow that escalates the war’s risk to global food markets.

Since Moscow halted the Black Sea agreement that allowed Ukraine to export part of its grain harvests, Russia has attacked Ukrainian grain storage facilities and warned that all vessels heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered potential carriers of military supplies.

The escalating threat to vital Black Sea trade steps up the risk of turmoil on global markets for everything from oil and food staples to fertilisers. Russia’s attack on its neighbour has already severely disrupted exports from Ukraine, a major producer of grains and vegetable oils.

Ukraine has previously attacked Russian ships in the Black Sea, sinking the flagship Moskva cruiser with a Neptune anti-ship missile soon after Russia’s invasion.

  • mawkishdave@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I don’t see this ending well for Russia. You have a few things that can happen. 1. They get called out and they are bluffing, making them look even weaker. 2. They attack and Ukraine sinks more ships making them look weaker. 3. They attack a cargo ship and this escalates one or more countries to take military action against them. 4. Nato works with Ukraine to find another way to export grain and sunflowers so Russia no longer has this as a bargaining chip. 5. They attack a ship from a major country (USA, UK, France, China) and all hell breaks out.

        • at_an_angle
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          1 year ago

          It makes more sense to have China keep selling Russia 4th rate equipment while keeping the economy going.

          Every notice how the only threat vatniks have is “we’ll nuke ya!”

          Like, get a new fucking threat bro. We’ve seen your military. Your nuclear arsenal can’t be in much better shape… if it hasn’t already been sold off or let to rot.

          • Jaysyn@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Tritium costs $30k a gram & has to replaced every 3 months in (supposedly) 6000 warheads.

      • teamevil@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I doubt China has forgotten the time Russia tried to nuke Honolulu and make it look like the Chinese did it, which in theory would have killed two birds with one stone. US uses up the nuclear stock pile responding to China, this the US is weaker and China would be no more… Nixon’s swans did not happen in a vacuum.