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This is the only port that Russia has with access to a coastline that doesn't freeze in winter.
When people say this I wonder why they can't just stick in a port at Novorossiysk or somewhere? Surely it's easier to do a bit of dredging than it is to invade a country?
I don't know anything about ports but according to Google they only need to be 30ft deep... there must be a good reason for them wanting Sevastopol?
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Crimea conveniently comes with rights to a large swathe of the Black Sea, and with it large deposits of relatively straightforward to exploit oil.
Otherwise, russia's options for future petrochemical exploration are mostly limited to expensive and difficult to extract Arctic caches.
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Not to mention gives direct access to the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.
In terms of why not build another, its a really big deal and insanely expensive.
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Posting the below as feel pretty helpess and wondering what I can do to support people in Ukraine. Links to where you can donate and some good resources too [I work for a charity and we partner with British Red Cross so has come from their Emergencies Appeal via a colleague]
"With the crisis in Ukraine continuing to impact the lives of thousands of people, your help is appreciated. Red Cross teams in Ukraine and the border countries are providing essential aid. In Ukraine, Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers are providing first aid, warm clothes, and support in shelters and metro stations. You can find out more about our response here.
https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/international/ukraine
The best way to help in this emergency, if you can do so, is to donate money to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian appeal. We are unable to accept goods or send volunteers abroad – you can find out more here.
Fundraising :
We are looking for people to help ‘shake a bucket’ at locations across the UK between Thursday 17th March – Saturday 19th March. If you can spare two hours and are over 18, you can sign up here for a slot near you.https://volunteer.redcross.org.uk/opportunities/22596-fundraising-bucket-shaker-volunteer-2021-11-09
If you can encourage others in your network to sign up to volunteer we have a draft email you could send and media assets to share here.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qe1q3nj6h6f9sp4/AACwJmZH5Q4liGikiNtBWz4Ha?dl=0Groups, including children and young people, can organise a fundraising activity for Ukraine and you can download our fundraising packs for lots of ideas.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qe1q3nj6h6f9sp4/AACwJmZH5Q4liGikiNtBWz4Ha?dl=0Educational resources
Our education team have released two new educational resources to support teachers and parents: a guidance piece on How to talk about conflict impartially, and a photo-based resource to help discuss the specific events in Ukraine.We also have our educational resources on the Rules of War and Migration - why people migrate and the difficulties they face which also might interest you. Additionally, we have wellbeing resources available to help build resilience.
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/how-to-talk-about-conflict-impartially
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/newsthink-ukraine
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/refugee-week-imagine-a-kinder-world
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-with-loneliness/wellbeing-support
The National Youth Agency has also released some resources for youth workers.
https://nya.org.uk/ukraine-crisis/ -
Casual talk show about occupying Baltic states and annexing Gotland from Sweden.
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More expensive than these sanctions and the war? Seems doubtful
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Several local clubs are organising a fundraising 15 mile mass ride on 20th March, 11am, starting/finishing St Neots in Cambridgeshire.
Easy pace, suits all riders, all types of bike.
£10 minimum entry, all going to DEC Appeal.
Much yellow and blue encouraged. See https://bedsroad.org/ukraine.php
LFGSS event at https://www.lfgss.com/events/7037/
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More expensive than these sanctions and the war? Seems doubtful
No but if you've invaded a country (in 2014) to re-establish ownership and have told the world you are not under any circumstances willing to budge on that ownership, the thought of finding tens of billions to rehouse an entire fleet is probably quite unpalatable.
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Interesting. Just read that Russia are in fact building a new deep sea port in Taman but for obvious reasons they are not entertaining the idea that it might be a replacement to Sevastopol.
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What a plan :) Even themselves are laughing
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I’m mentioning it again, but another way to fund local support in Ukraine would be through supporting Zulu fixed. They’re still sending things out from there. It just feels incomprehensible to me (such is the privilege of uk citizenship) that one month you’re focusing on building a fixed gear business and the next he’s doing fundraisers to get medical supplies, bulletproof vests and sights for weapons.. His squad are not on the front line yet as it hasn’t quite reached their area (which is why they don’t have the same kit as people on the front line) but I’m sure anything would help.
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Is anyone thinking of hosting Ukrainian refugees? You can register on the government site, which has just gone live https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/
You're not to charge rent, but you get an optional 'thank you' payment of £350 per month for up to 12 months. You get the same payment whether you provide a spare bedroom or a whole house. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-frequently-asked-questions
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building a new deep sea port in Taman
Makes complete sense. So (outside of a few measly billion*) there is no reason (geographical, etc.) why Sevastopol should be the only warm port accessible to Russia.
Georgia are also trying to build a deep water port.
* For perspective: "Today, although Russian losses are a military secret, Ukrainian estimates put the material cost to Putin from the destruction of tanks, planes and weapons at around US$5 billion for just the first two days of the war."
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Yeah, but even though they laugh at naming Baltic states "People's republic of Lithuania / Latvia / Estonia", that's exactly what they do in occupied areas - throw some Russian passports for local pro Russian people, make some fake referendum and announce it as an "independent" republic like Donetsk People's Republic for example.
Funny yet a bit eerie.
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The Sevastopol base and occupation of Crimea also made it easy for Putin to blockade Ukraine's east coast ports. When he grabbed Crimea he built a bridge across the entrance to the Sea of Azov. Since then he's been parking a couple of ships under the bridge whenever he wanted to put more pressure on Ukraine. He also started shooting at the Ukraine navy in 2018 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerch_Strait_incident
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Radio quoted yesterday that 90%+ of Ukraine wheat exports go via their ports, if Russia does make it to Odessa, Ukraine has significant problems ahead. Even if Russia don't and a true is announced, it will take them a long time to get their other ports functioning at full capacity again.
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Makes complete sense. So (outside of a few measly billion*) there is no reason (geographical, etc.) why Sevastopol should be the only warm port accessible to Russia.
Political reasons can be quite compelling when it comes to making decisions.
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if Russia does make it to Odessa
I just can't see Russia risking an amphibious attack on Odessa. Its super well fortified and Ukraine are well dug in there. Amphibious landings are difficult and incredibly risky. If they are going to take Odessa I think they might have to do it from the land which would be incredibly resource intensive in itself.
Edit: Do they even need to take it? A naval blockade would probably do the trick. Wonder if the Ukrainians are sorting out some Air to Sea missiles?
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They have Exocet missiles but were buying a new system, Neptune but wasn't due for delivery until April
i guess the main reason to take it is if you are planning to bridge across to transnistria
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Russian invasion of Ukraine
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On Putin's rationality, I listened to someone make the point that if you take a more c19th imperialist view then it all holds together much more.
Personally I struggle to forget Adam Curtis talking about Soviet conceptions of truth and reality. I think it's important to not get too bogged down in what Putin & Co. say, as ultimately it is transitory and not based in reality. In a nutshell he wants to re-establish a Russian empire and will do anything to achieve that. Rationalising the extent to which NATO posses a threat to Russia, etc. is futile.