Ukrainian expert Klymenko names condition for Russia-Ukraine maritime ceasefire

A genuine maritime ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine can only be achieved if the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula is liberated, said Andriy Klymenko, head of the Monitoring Group of the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies, as reported by Crimea Realities, a reporting project by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

He cited recent data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) that found “82 percent of Ukrainians believe we should continue fighting Russia, even if the U.S. completely halts its assistance.” 

Russia is now manipulating ongoing peace talks to serve its own military interests. The Kremlin is attempting to halt Ukraine’s successful attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, he said.

“Russia wants Ukraine to abandon its victory in the Black Sea, which has forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet into a ‘kennel’ in Novorossiysk, under the protection of Russian air defense, where it is now too afraid to venture even a few miles from the port, except for its submarines,” Klymenko said.

He also said that Ukraine’s and Russia’s interests in this ceasefire are incompatible.

“The main thing Ukraine seeks in any ceasefire agreement is for Russia to stop attacking Ukrainian ports. Fifty foreign commercial vessels have been blocked in Ukrainian ports since Feb. 24, 2022,” he said.

He emphasized that Ukraine has never attacked Russian commercial vessels, focusing instead on destroying military ships from the Black Sea Fleet.

“So, the positions of the two sides in maritime ceasefire negotiations are clear: Ukraine wants Russian attacks on commercial vessels in Ukrainian ports to stop, while Russia essentially wants Ukraine to halt its destruction of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Klymenko said.

A seafaring ceasefire “is unlikely to happen,” and the expert also said that there is little hope of halting the attacks.

“As far as I know, no one in the maritime business expects this,” he said. 

He continued: “People in the field understand that Ukraine will not agree to restore Russian control over the ‘grain corridor’ or allow the Russian Black Sea Fleet to return to Sevastopol, from which it was shamefully expelled.”

Such a development would be a betrayal of Ukraine’s national interests, he said.

Read the full interview at the following link.