{"id":1991220,"date":"2023-08-04T16:57:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T20:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-attacks-ukraines-grain-because-they-cant-hit-military-targets-officials-say\/"},"modified":"2023-08-04T16:58:47","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T20:58:47","slug":"russia-attacks-ukraines-grain-because-they-cant-hit-military-targets-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-attacks-ukraines-grain-because-they-cant-hit-military-targets-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian officials claim that they target Ukraine&#8217;s grain due to their inability to strike military objectives."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frussia-attacks-ukraines-grain-because-they-cant-hit-military-targets-officials-say%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1991220&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Russia&#8217;s Attacks on Ukraine&#8217;s \u2064Agricultural\u200b Infrastructure Reflect Increasing Desperation<\/h2>\n<p>Russia&#8217;s recent intensification of attacks on Ukraine&#8217;s granaries and other agricultural infrastructure is a\u200c clear indication of their growing inability to effectively target \u200dmilitary objectives, according to U.S. and \u200bEuropean officials.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s trying to say\u200c that \u2063it \u200bcan strangle Ukraine&#8217;s economy, as a whole,&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Ambassador James O&#8217;Brien, State Department&#8217;s\u2062 lead sanctions coordinator<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ambassador O&#8217;Brien explains that Russia is targeting these &#8220;soft&#8221; civilian targets because they are unable to compete with Ukraine&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russian-amphibious-ships-arrive-in-captured-ukrainian-city-of-berdyansk\/\" title=\"Russian Amphibious Ships Arrive in Captured Ukrainian City of Berdyansk\">advanced air defense systems<\/a>,\u2062 which have been developed with assistance from the U.S., \u2063NATO, European allies, and G-7 partners.<\/p>\n<h3>Alternative Mode of Aggression<\/h3>\n<p>Western officials\u2064 believe that Russia&#8217;s attacks on Ukraine&#8217;s agricultural infrastructure go beyond their dissatisfaction with\u200c the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-brokered arrangement for \u200dmaritime exports of\u2063 Ukrainian and Russian agricultural products. Instead, they see it as \u2063a strategic\u2063 move to compensate \u200dfor the Russian military&#8217;s shortcomings.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;What \u2064we&#8217;re seeing with this intensification of Russia&#8217;s attack on soft \u200bcivilian targets is \u2064a Russian \u2063recognition that time is not on its\u2064 side.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Ambassador James O&#8217;Brien<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This analysis \u2062aligns with Estonia&#8217;s assessment,\u2062 as one\u2062 of the few NATO allies sharing a \u2063border with Russia. Estonian Defense Forces \u200cCol.\u2063 Mart\u2064 Vendla \u2062states that \u200dRussian forces are unlikely to\u200d achieve a\u2064 decisive breakthrough\u200b in\u200c Ukrainian positions, leading \u2064them to exhaust \u200cUkraine&#8217;s economy and civilian environment through missile and drone \u200cattacks.<\/p>\n<h3>United Nations Security Council\u200c Debate<\/h3>\n<p>Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently presided over\u2062 a United \u200dNations\u200d Security Council debate on the relationship between conflict and the\u200d threat of famine, with a\u2062 focus on Russia&#8217;s obstruction of Ukrainian exports. In response, Russia\u2063 claimed the right\u2063 to strike Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure while criticizing Western \u2063sanctions.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The prohibitions \u2062on attacking or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-claims-right-to-attack-ukraines-grain-amid-debate-about-war-and-famine\/\" title=\"Russia asserts right to target Ukraine's grain amidst war and famine discourse.\">destroying agricultural infrastructure<\/a> do\u200b not apply \u200cif \u200bsuch facilities are used for\u2064 the sustenance of armed forces or in direct support\u200d of military action.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>-\u2064 Dmitry Polyanskiy, lead official \u2062at the Russian mission \u2064to the\u200d United\u200b Nations<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This dispute has triggered a diplomatic scramble to shift blame for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-nearly-80-percent-of-voters-say-biden-responsible-for-inflation-spike\/\" title=\"Poll: Nearly 80 Percent of Voters Say Biden Responsible for Inflation Spike\">rising food prices<\/a>. The Kremlin, Ukraine, and Ukraine&#8217;s Western\u200b supporters view countries across\u200c Africa and other developing regions\u2064 as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-to-outline-contours-of-a-new-world-order-as-un-security-council-chair\/\" title=\"Russia to outline \u2018contours of a new world order\u2019 as UN Security Council chair\">geopolitical swing voters<\/a> whose support can \u200bshape the diplomatic landscape.<\/p>\n<h3>Optimism Amidst Challenges<\/h3>\n<p>While Russia offers a small amount of grain as a gesture, State Department officials \u200ddismiss it as \u200cinsignificant compared to the damage caused by last \u2062year&#8217;s \u2064invasion of Ukraine. They remain optimistic that Ukrainian \u2063grain\u200d will\u2064 reach the global market, acknowledging that it will take time\u2064 and incur costs. The goal is to prevent Russia from having \u200ba stranglehold over the Black Sea, as Russia&#8217;s \u200dleverage is expected to decline over time.<\/p>\n<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has\u2063 also\u200d expressed interest in renewing the Black \u200bSea\u2063 grain\u200d deal and is in talks with Moscow about hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin in August to discuss the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Russia&#8217;s escalating \u2063attacks on Ukraine&#8217;s agricultural \u200dinfrastructure reveal their increasing desperation \u2063and the\u2063 limitations \u200bof their \u200dmilitary capabilities. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-attacks-ukraines-grain-because-they-cant-hit-military-targets-officials-say\/\" title=\"Russian officials claim that they target Ukraine's grain due to their inability to strike military objectives.\">international \u200dcommunity remains committed<\/a> to supporting \u200cUkraine and ensuring that Russia&#8217;s attempts to \u2064undermine its economy are unsuccessful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia targeting Ukraine&#8217;s agricultural infrastructure instead of military targets suggests their growing inability to launch successful attacks. This move aims to cripple Ukraine&#8217;s economy, as stated by Ambassador James O&#8217;Brien, the State Department&#8217;s lead sanctions coordinator. The motive behind this strategy remains unclear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1991221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1991220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1991220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1991220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1991220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1991221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1991220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1991220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1991220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}