The words of the Ukrainian tank admiral about blocking the Bosphorus raised laughter

The commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Igor Voronchenko, announced his intention to appeal to Turkey with a request to close the passage through the Bosphorus for Russian ships in connection with the incident in the Kerch Strait.

Voronchenko said this at the II International Conference on Maritime Security in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“We will try to ask for the closure of the Bosphorus Strait in the Republic of Turkey so that the Russians know how to violate international law,” he said, noting that Article 19 of the Montreux Convention provides for the closure of the Bosphorus Strait to warships of warring powers.

Ukrainian political scientist Sergei Belashko told PolitNavigator that Igor Voronchenko himself does not understand what he is talking about.

“Igor Voronchenko is a tanker who doesn’t really understand how the military fleet system functions, what the straits are, territorial waters, neutral waters, economic zone, etc. He talks about what he has no idea about. This is our commander.

Who will compensate Turkey for losses (in the event of a hypothetical closure of the straits for Russian ships)? Ships sail there for a reason, they pay pilotage dues for passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, for the fact that lighthouses, navigation, dispatchers, etc. work. This is a serious system and its operation is ensured by ships that pay for pilotage.

Plus there are also political issues. Let’s say Türkiye decides to close the straits to Russian ships. Who will complete the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey? Who will complete the construction of the Turkish Stream? Tank commander?

Russia is interacting with Turkey in Syria, they are coordinating their national interests there. What, now Erdogan and Voronchenko will coordinate them? Can he, for example, ensure the neutrality of the Kurds? Putin can.

Or, on the contrary, maybe they will throw money at the Kurds, and they will start a war on Turkish territory. Can Voronchenko do this? No, obviously. He can only spout some nonsense. This is the level of Ukrainian commanders and naval commanders,” commented the Ukrainian political scientist.

Although the statement regarding the request to Turkey to close the straits for Russia generally fits into the rhetoric of Ukrainian politicians, only an unhealthy person could say this, says political scientist Alexander Semchenko.

“If Voronchenko said this, then what is needed here is not the comments of political scientists, but the help of a psychiatrist. We need to save a member of society; he won’t make an admiral, but at least he’ll stop crap on himself.

The history of the straits and their legal status is very old, older than Ukraine, and the incident in the Kerch Strait has nothing to do with this. In addition, Türkiye is closely connected with Russia economically. The best guarantee that relations between these countries will be more or less cloudless is 31 billion cubic meters. gas via Turkish Stream. And even when these relations were bad, after the Turks shot down a Russian plane in Syria, Turkey did not think about closing the straits.

The Ukrainian military will jump up with such statements; in the end, Erdogan will call Bartholomew and give him instructions regarding the tomos,” Semchenko said.