Last night, early this morning there was another wave of dramatic Russian air attacks on Ukraine, in particular on the port city of Odessa. From some indications, depending on the actual use of the “hotel” hit by Russian missiles, this attack would appear to be the perfect tit-for-tat revenge for the loss of Russia’s Black Sea staff building in Sevastopol. Western reporting speaks of the hotel as “not in use for years” or as being used for military training purposes. Russian state television, Sixty Minutes, this evening says that the strike on the hotel resulted in the deaths of Ukrainian officers and foreign mercenaries who worked there. In the shadowy world of unofficial Russian internet sites, there is the view that the building was effectively used as a staff headquarters for what remains of the Ukrainian fleet. For what it is worth, The Financial Times identified the hotel as a “landmark…that had stood at the foot of Odessa’s famous Potemkin Stairs.” Surely that helps cinema fans locate the site. Additionally, Russian missiles destroyed the maritime passenger terminal of Odessa. More importantly, the Russians destroyed silos and other port infrastructure essential to grain export. There were explosions and fires that lit up the sky for hours…. [gilbertdoctorow.com] 25/09
