Attacks on Crimean port: Putin speaks of "terrorist attack" - critics of "fictional story"

Created: 01/11/2022 14:19

By: Tobias Utz

Attacks on the Crimean port of Sevastopol fuel Kremlin propaganda.

Meanwhile, Russia is exacerbating the international food crisis.

Sevastopol – Saturday morning, 4.20 a.m. in the port of Sevastopol in Crimea: Drone attacks on the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.

16 flying and floating drones attack the warships, including the almost 125-meter-long frigate "Admiral Makarov", which is considered the flagship after the sinking of the "Moskva" in April.

At least that's how the Kremlin put it. Ukraine, in collaboration with Great Britain, was responsible, it said.

"In view of the terrorist attack carried out by the regime in Kyiv with the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in securing grain corridors, Russia has suspended its participation in the implementation of the contract on export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports." , announced the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

Putin's governor addresses people in Crimea

The Ukrainian government vehemently contradicted: There is no evidence of this, according to people close to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

An adviser to the Ukrainian president only highlighted the heavy losses suffered by Russia.

Various ships were hit in the attacks.

The Russian government, on the other hand, said that only a minesweeper and bay facilities in the port of Sevastopol had been slightly damaged.

Great Britain immediately denied any involvement in the attacks.

These are "false claims of epic proportions" and a "made-up story".

Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Archive photo) © Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP

Vladimir Putin's government immediately used the attack for its own propaganda: It was a "terrorist attack".

An accusation that Russia justifies with its own territory.

The fact that the Crimean peninsula was illegally annexed in 2014 no longer plays a role for Moscow.

The accusation of "terrorism" was repeatedly formulated, the perpetrators were "Nazis".

Putin's followers reacted accordingly:

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Crimea appointed by the Russian President, even called on the people of the peninsula not to share video footage of the attacks on social networks: “It should be clear to everyone that Ukrainian Nazis urgently need such information in order to understand how our city's defenses are set up," he said.

But not only did the Kremlin's propaganda machinery benefit from the attacks, Russia also saw itself as capable of suspending the grain agreement with Ukraine.

This regulates - so far only until November 18 - the export of grain transports to the Ukrainian ports occupied by Russian troops.

In this way, Russia wants to "draw the attention of the international community, particularly through the UN Security Council," to the "series of terrorist attacks against Russia in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea," stressed Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Telegram .

The "involvement of Great Britain" should also be discussed.

The Grains Agreement was on April 22.

It was signed on July 19th with the mediation of the UN and Turkey and was considered a key contribution to alleviating the global food crisis triggered by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

According to the United Nations, nine million tons of grain had already been exported from Ukraine thanks to the agreement.

Grain agreement between Ukraine and Russia

The agreement is limited to Tuesday, November 18th.

It is automatically extended if none of the contracting parties expressly objects.

Russia's leaving the command center will probably be seen as a contradiction if it behaves permanently.

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for a "strong international response" to Russia's grain blockade.

An exclusion from the G20, the union of the most important industrialized and emerging countries, is appropriate.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, accused the Russian government of using the attack on the Black Sea Fleet to block transports "that mean food security for millions of people."

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A welcome bargaining chip for Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin announced several days ago that the grain agreement with Ukraine simply did not meet Russia's expectations.

Corresponding sanctions did not occur.

The attacks on the Black Sea Fleet now serve as an opportunity for a welcome leverage in negotiations in the Ukraine war.

Putin's propaganda embeds this in well-known patterns.

(do with AFP/dpa)