The magic of offensive in Africa and restraint on the battlefield in Ukraine: What does Russia intend to do?

“It’s surprising,” Paliao says. “It was the first time that an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine, albeit mediated by Turkey. It shows that they can still reach an agreement on something despite the difficult situation.”

Jan Baliao sees the Russian attack in the port of Odessa, less than 24 hours after the grain deal was closed, as “very strange”. “Maybe this is the Kremlin’s hard-line response to the moderates’ grain deal. Because in the Kremlin there is a struggle between hardliners who want general mobilization for the war in Ukraine and moderates who strive for a negotiated solution.”

“Turkey, by the way, is the only channel between the West and Russia. If the first convoy of ships was attacked with grain or if Russia carried out more precise attacks in Ukrainian ports, this would be a problem for Russia-Turkish relations. “

Reporter Geert Grot-Corkamp sees another explanation for the Russian missile attack in Odessa: “It may be a banal lack of communication. We saw that the reactions from Russia were very contradictory.” In fact, Moscow initially denied any involvement, and only later said that a missile depot in the port had been attacked.