প্রকাশ: 03/08/2022
Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of direct
involvement in the Ukraine war while the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to
world markets since Moscow's invasion anchored safely off Turkey's coast after
a problem-free journey.
Russia said it was responding to comments by Vadym
Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, about the way Kyiv
had used US-made and supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)
launchers based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time
information.
Skibitsky told Britain's Telegraph newspaper there was
consultation between US and Ukrainian intelligence officials before strikes and
that Washington had an effective veto on intended targets, though he said US
officials were not providing direct targeting information.
Russia's defence ministry, headed by a close ally of
President Vladimir Putin, said the interview showed that Washington was
entangled in the conflict despite repeated assertions that it was limiting its
role to arms supplies because it did not want a direct confrontation with
Moscow.
"All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary
to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in
Ukraine," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
"It is the Biden administration that is directly
responsible for all Kyiv-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and
civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which
have resulted in mass deaths of civilians."
There was no immediate reaction from the White House or
Pentagon to the ministry's assertions.
The Pentagon did deny, however, Moscow's claims that Russia
had destroyed six US-made HIMARS since the war in Ukraine began on Febuary 24.
Russia regularly claims it has hit HIMARS but has yet to show proof.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of carrying out
devastating missile attacks on civilian targets on an almost daily basis. Both
sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.
The accuracy and long range of missile systems provided by
the West were intended to reduce Russia's artillery advantage, but Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday night said that despite those
supplies, his country's forces could not yet overcome Russian advantages in
heavy guns and manpower.
"This is very much felt in combat, especially in the
Donbas. ... It is just hell there. Words cannot describe it," he said.
A Russian diplomat said at the United Nations that the
conflict in Ukraine does not warrant Russia's use of nuclear weapons, but
Moscow could decide to use its nuclear arsenal in response to "direct
aggression" by Nato countries over the invasion.
At a nuclear non-proliferation conference, diplomat
Alexander Trofimov said Moscow would only use nuclear weapons in response to
weapons of mass destruction or a conventional weapons attack that threatened
the existence of the Russian state.
"None of these two hypothetical scenarios is relevant
to the situation in Ukraine," Trofimov, a senior diplomat in the
non-proliferation and arms control department of Russia's foreign ministry,
told the UN conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons.
Safe Passage
Meanwhile, a July 22 UN-brokered deal to unblock the export
of Ukrainian grain had an initial success. Turkey said that the first loaded
ship since Russia's invasion more than five months ago was safely anchored off
the Turkish coast.
The vessel, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni was at the
entrance of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea to world
markets, around 1800 GMT on Tuesday, some 36 hours after leaving the Ukrainian
port of Odesa.
A delegation from the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in
Istanbul, where Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN personnel work, is expected
to inspect the ship at 0700 GMT on Wednesday, Turkey's Defence Ministry said.
It was loaded with 26,527 tonnes of corn.
"We hope that there will be some more outbound movement
tomorrow," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Dujarric said there were about 27 ships in the three
Ukrainian ports covered by the export deal that were ready to go.
The exports from one of the world's top grain producers are
intended to help ease a global food crisis.
"Our goal now is to have an orderly schedule so when
one ship leaves port there should be other vessels – both those loading and
those approaching the port," Zelenskiy said.
For the safe passage deal to stick, there are other hurdles
to overcome, including clearing sea mines and creating a framework for vessels
to safely enter the war zone and pick up cargoes.
Known as Europe's breadbasket, Ukraine hopes to export 20
million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest
now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk.
Russia has called the Razoni's departure "very
positive" news. It has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying
Western sanctions have slowed its exports.
Adding to those sanctions, the United States on Tuesday
targeted Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast the Treasury Department
described as having a close relationship with Putin. Putin has denied they are
romantically linked.
The department said in a statement Kabaeva heads the
National Media Group, a pro-Kremlin group of television, radio and print
organizations.
- Reuters
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