| Much of the current focus on the Ukraine war is currently on the shelling of the major urban centers of Kharkiv and Kyiv. And from a political and humanitarian perspective, that certainly makes sense.
But there is a broader strategic and economic perspective that I feel as though some are missing when it comes to the Russian campaign along Ukraine’s southern coast, currently focused on the week-long bombardment of the southeastern port city of Mariupol. If (sadly, I think this is now more of a case of “when“) the port of Mariupol falls, there will be little to stop Russia from sending troops west from Russia proper, through the Ukraine separatist regions, to the Crimean peninsula, and onward to Ukraine’s primary commercial port of Odessa.
Given the considerable effort Russia will have expended to reach Odessa, there’s little reason to expect them to stop there… |
