Ukraine has escalated its conflict with Russia in the Black Sea, and in order to break the blockade of the port of Odessa, Ukraine unilaterally opened a "humanitarian corridor", claiming that it is to guarantee the safe passage of merchant ships. But whether this corridor is effective or not, the outside world is skeptical, believing that this corridor will only make sense if Russia does not launch attacks on ships. In order to test Russia's reaction, Ukraine went so far as to use a Hong Kong, China-flagged cargo ship as a "shield" to let it pass through this corridor, which is a dangerous practice that may cause displeasure in China.
Ukraine's conflict with Russia stems from Ukraine's attack on the Crimean bridge, which led to Russia's heavy bombardment of Odessa, Ukraine's largest port and naval base. The port of Odessa, which is a hub for Ukraine's grain exports and an important window for Ukraine to receive international aid, is now almost blocked by Russia. Russia has also halted the implementation of the Agreement on the Export of Agricultural Products from Black Sea Ports, an agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations to guarantee the safe transportation of Ukrainian and Russian agricultural products in the Black Sea. Russia believes that this agreement was used by Ukraine and the West to not only violate sanctions, but also send ** to Ukraine. Russia also announced that all ships heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered "military cargo carriers" supporting Ukraine and could be attacked. This made the ships near the port of Odessa almost disappear.
Not to be outdone, Ukraine has also threatened to strike back at Russia in the Black Sea. Before Zelensky's statement, a Russian ** and a Russian tanker had already been attacked in the Black Sea. The risk in the Black Sea has risen sharply. In this case, Ukraine announced itself the unilateral creation of "humanitarian corridors", creating temporary routes for merchant ships. But whether this corridor works or not, Russia will give an answer a few days later. A patrol ship of the Russian Navy is in the southwestern waters of the Black Sea, warning and boarding a cargo ship heading for Ukraine**. The outside world is still skeptical about the effectiveness of Ukraine's creation of corridors.
At this time, in order to prove its effectiveness, Ukraine actually used a Hong Kong, China-flagged cargo ship as a "shield" to let it pass through this corridor and go to the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey. This is the first civilian ship to pass through this "humanitarian corridor" since Russia stopped implementing the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. Reuters also said that this was a test of the "Russian blockade threat". This move is sinister in its intentions, and it is intended to use the cargo ship from Hong Kong, China, to "go to the mines", and if Russia fights, it will offend China, and if it does not fight, it means that Russia's ban is false. It is worth noting that the ship, which has been stranded in the port of Odessa for a year and a half, was apparently detained by Ukraine in disguise and is now being used as a pawn to test Russia.
This is also reminiscent of the previous Russian bombing of the port of Odessa, Zelenskyy claimed that the port stored about a million tons of grain, which should have been delivered to Asian and African countries, was blown up, and said that 60,000 tons were planned to be shipped to China. But in fact, Ukraine's grain exports are mainly destined for Europe and the United States, and only a small part goes to poor countries in Africa and Asia. When Ukraine was bombed, it was said that it was destined for Asia and Africa, which is a hypocritical approach. At present, both Ukraine and the West are trying to sow discord between China and Russia and want to draw China into the quagmire of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. But China's defense minister recently visited Russia and Belarus to strengthen defense cooperation. So, their plots are all in vain.