It had been talked about for days now and the US Secretary of State himself, Antony Blink, had talked about the use of supplying cluster bombs to Ukraine because ammunition is starting to run out. And today Washington itself confirms Kiev’s use of deadly bombs dropped from aircraft or artillery systems which, after an initial detonation, release hundreds of small munitions over a more or less large area ready to explode on impact with the ground or with buildings, whether they are military or civilian. And it is with these weapons – banned for their dangerousness by the Oslo Convention that neither the USA, nor Russia, nor Ukraine have ever ratified since 2008 – that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is trying to regain momentum. Ukraine has used them in an attempt to dismantle well-fortified Russian positions that have slowed down the Kiev summer offensive. The news – released by the Washington Post – was later confirmed by the White House. Kiev’s intent is clear: accelerate the reconquest of the occupied territories that Russia has no intention of ceding. Indeed, for the third consecutive day, Moscow struck Odessa in the night, causing one death and damage to the Chinese consulate as well. Two dead and 20 wounded are also counted in the raid on Mykolaiv.
Tension is still rising on the Black Sea therefore, after the Kremlin broke the grain pact: Kiev has announced that all ships that will reach Russian ports or territories occupied in Ukraine will be considered as potential “military vessels”, in response to the similar decision taken by Moscow for vessels directed to Ukrainian ports. According to the US National Security Council spokesman Adam HodgeRussia is considering attacks on civilian ships carrying grain from Ukraine on the Black Sea and then blames Ukrainian forces. In any case, Moscow’s intention is to more actively stop any merchant ships in the dock, according to the British Defense Ministry. The UN Security Council will meet on Friday to talk about the “humanitarian consequences” of Russia’s withdrawal from the wheat deal, while the Western chorus of condemnation against Moscow is growing. Starting with EU High Representative Josep Borrell, who invited the international community to “respond in a determined way” to Moscow’s attempt to “starve the world“. With relentless war on the horizon, the West pushes military support for Kiev: Joseph Borrell, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, has proposed “financing up to 5 billion a year for the next 4 years for Ukrainian defense within the framework of the EU’s European Peace Facility”. In the meantime, diplomacy seems to remain at a standstill and the tensions between the two blocs show no signs of abating. Instead, Moscow summoned British charge d’affaires Tom Dodd informing him that it had issued travel restrictions on British diplomats within Russia, in response to “hostile actions” by London.
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