Thomas Hayward
The British Defence Secretary has been forced to abandon a visit to Odesa, a vital port city in Ukraine, after Russia purportedly became aware of his travel plans.
The Sunday Times reported that the British delegation became aware of a ‘credible, target missile threat’ during Schapps’ visit to Ukraine, prompting the cancellation of the stop in Odesa. As a result, the threat level to the Defence Secretary’s safety rose from ‘substantial’ to ‘critical’.
The West “must show we have the collective will” [Grant Schapps]
Schapps was visiting Ukraine with the Chief of the General Staff, Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, and met with President Zelensky in Kyiv, stating that the West “must show we have the collective will” to help Ukraine defeat Russia.
Shortly afterwards, the electronics onboard the Defence Secretary’s jet were believed to be jammed by the Russian military during its return flight to the UK. While the Guardian’s sources stressed that there was ‘no danger to Schapps’ during the incident, the incident shows the willingness of the Kremlin to directly target Western government officials.
The developments come after the Ukrainian President and Greek Prime Minister had a near miss with a Russian missile attack during their visit to Odesa. The explosion killed at least 5 people and took place just a few hundred metres away from the group. The Greek PM stated afterwards that the experience was a “vivid reminder” of the realities of conflict faced by Ukrainian citizens, vowing to continue supporting Ukraine in its “just struggle to defend its national integrity”.
The city’s port plays a critical role in Ukrainian efforts to continue trade despite then ongoing conflict
Odesa has been a frequent target for Russian missile and drone attacks since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Its position on the Black Sea means that the city’s port plays a critical role in Ukrainian efforts to continue trade despite the ongoing conflict. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, there have been an estimated 30,000 civilian and 500,000 troop casualties.
Thomas Hayward
Featured image courtesy of Vitolda Klein via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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