The most brute force

In the development of a military conflict, there are times when some of the rules of international conventions are complied with, and other times, especially nowadays, when they are not, when nothing happens as could be foreseen.  

We must avoid good intentions, unfortunately discarding noble and lawful intentions when assessing and considering the resources used by each side when the lives of their families, their homes, their territory are at stake against invaders who do not want to suffer too many casualties and spend too many resources. In the case of invaders who want to take over the territory they intend to occupy, in theory, they should preserve as much as possible all infrastructures of all kinds because the subsequent objective after the conflict is to use them for their own benefit.

It does not seem that a certain logic is prevailing in the war decisions of Russian decision-makers. They are either opting for more brute force in order to respond to a situation that does not favour them on the battlefield or to exert more international pressure that might be more beneficial. Putin has decided to target the Odessa port facilities where millions of tons of grain, cereals and other agricultural products are stored for export around the world. Several consecutive nights with attacks on various silos and port facilities without the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence being able to avoid all the hits. Nor has it been possible to neutralise the missile that has hit an Orthodox church in the centre of the city and other buildings with civilian populations.  

Killing civilians has become part of Russia's strategy, but targeting churches and destroying facilities that would be of great use if they manage to conquer the territory they seek in Ukraine can only be explained by the need to stop a movement that threatens their interests, such as the Ukrainian counteroffensive. There are bound to be more conscientious reasons. We might think that Putin is using what he can after the embarrassing scandal with the Wagner mercenary group, who may now be sorely missed on the front line to try to contain the Ukrainian counteroffensive. We are at one of those key moments in a conflict where decisions are crucial to the outcome of events, which in this case could lead to negotiations, something that the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, does not rule out, but on one overly complicated condition: that it be without Putin. 

The fact is that it is not only Ukraine that needs to export its grain, its cereals, but the whole world needs it to avoid a food crisis. Negotiations continue with a prominent role for Turkey.