The Kremlin now wants to cut off Ukraine's maritime supply lines

Russia wants to completely halt the shipment of weapons, ammunition and fuel intended for the Ukrainian army across the Black Sea – Dmitry Peskov announced on October 2. The Kremlin spokesman described cutting off maritime supplies as one of the key goals of the war against Ukraine, while claiming that Moscow is merely responding to Ukrainian maritime attacks. According to him, Ukraine “must pay the price” for these actions, and it is already paying, with the retaliation set to continue.

The explanation is a familiar one: the defense of the attacked country becomes the punishable act, while the aggressor's next strike is presented as the justified response. Peskov added that Kyiv shows no willingness for comprehensive agreements, and that, in his view, partial deals do not bring the parties closer to a settlement. Recalling Putin's statement from the previous day, he said Russia needs peace rather than a ceasefire. The threat is particularly telling given that a new diplomatic initiative has meanwhile been launched to protect Black Sea shipping. According to a Bloomberg report, Turkey and the UN organized talks for early October in Russia and Ukraine, to be mediated by delegates from the Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The process, launched in September, seeks a narrowly defined, mutual agreement on freedom of commercial shipping and the protection of ports and energy infrastructure. Turkish, American, European, Indian and Egyptian representatives took part in a preparatory meeting held during the UN General Assembly. The initiative builds on the experience of the grain shipping agreement set up in 2022, which for a time guaranteed safe passage for food and fertilizer shipments leaving Ukrainian ports. However, a major obstacle to the current talks is Russia's list of demands: Moscow would expect sanctions relief and significant Ukrainian military concessions in exchange for a new Black Sea agreement. In September, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called a return to the previous agreement outright unacceptable and unrealistic.

Mayhem