Ukraine Opens Up A New War At Sea
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Shadow fleet
13 min read
The article directly references Russia's 'shadow tanker fleet' - understanding this network of aging vessels used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil is essential context for why Ukraine is targeting these specific ships
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Turkish straits
9 min read
The article mentions attacks near the Turkish coast on the Black Sea - the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus and Dardanelles) are the critical chokepoint for Russian naval and commercial traffic, governed by the Montreux Convention, making Turkey's position strategically vital
Hello All,
First, an announcement. Ambassador Bob Rae and I will be doing a Substack Live this week on Wednesday at 4pm UK time and 11am EST. Bob is one of the most distinguished diplomats of the previous decades, is just finishing his post as Canadian Ambassador to the UN and has served as the chair of the UN’s Economic and Social Council for the past year. He is also a keen observer of international affairs and will have lots to say on US-Canada relations. So please join us.
Also, I hope people do not mind if I make this post for my paying subscribers. I have tried to keep a great deal of the recent content free as its such a fraught period. However this is more detailed strategic analysis, so I will change practice for this piece.
Ukraine Opens Up A New War At Sea
Yesterday two separate reports were made of Ukrainian operations at sea; reports which combined reveal that the war at sea is poised to expand significantly (if that indeed is the Ukrainian wish). The two stories were:
Even more surprising, the Ukrainians attacked a Turkish owned tanker Mersin as it was carrying Russian oil off the coast of Senegal. The vessel was reported as sinking, though the crew was evacuated.
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