Thread by @UkrainesGrains

A 🧵 on Strategic Thinking

Would targeting water pumps in occupied Crimea by Ukraine, forcing Russia to provide #water from uncontested sources, i.e., mainland Asia in Krasnodar Oblast and moving over the Kerch Bridge with truck or train, be a violation of international law?

Absolutely not!

Why would it be?

Targeted destruction of the water pumps does NOT deny ALL water to Crimea, it only denies Putin & The Kremlin access to the most efficient means of conveying water from Ukraine, water that Russia is currently stealing.

There are other sources of water to supply Crimea, on territory within Russia which are not contested under any international disputes or conflicts over rightful, legitimate sovereign territorial claims.

There have been no Ukrainian claims of ownership of Krasnodar Oblast.

And Krasnodar has ample water, enough water to make this region of southwest Asia bloom, support life and agriculture, from a far smaller watershed than the much larger Dnipro watershed extending into Belarus & western Russia.

Enough water to navigate barges up the Kuban River.

The legitimate & legal solution to Russia's water crisis in occupied Crimea is, not without irony, the object of Ukrainian ire itself, The Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait, not theft of water via the North Crimean Canal.

If they can move munitions, missiles, "little green men", food & luxuries items alike to Russian occupiers of Kerch, Sebastopol and all points inside Crimea, AND Kherson Oblast, Kherson City and Southern Ukraine over The Bridge, why not water by truck or train?!?!

There is a huge disconnect in Western Observers' thinking and understanding of this illegal invasion.

That it is only about oil or natural gas reserves in eastern Ukraine or the Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black & Azov Seas.

[image @heldermaker]

Or that it is about Russian imperialism, or Putin's legacy ambitions to recover Soviet "Greatness".

Or that Putin is just a complete dick and Russians have been completely & irrecoverably brainwashed from The Kremlin's long disinformation campaigns.

Or this.

Or that.

Because of X, Y or Z reason given, thinking about water, access & control of water, or anything to do with water - the essence of life itself - whatsoever; it is IMPOSSIBLE to consider water as a source of strategic political or military significance in this war.

This is absolutely flawed thinking and an incomplete myopic perspective of the regional considerations necessary to pursue a successful military campaign by Ukraine & its allies, to defeat and achieve uncompromised victory to 2014 territorial borders against the Russian Orcs.

Water, access & control of water infrastructure, using water as a weapon and as means to terrorize populations has been at the center of this illegal invasion and war, not only since February 24th, but long before.

Water wars span decades, eons even!

[article @a_prokip]

I'm just an "Average American" trying any strategy to assist UA, save Ukrainians lives & prevent a second RU lead genocide in Ukraine & the unnecessary deaths of food insecure people globally.

We must think strategically about water to win this war!

realcleardefense.com/articles/2016/…

@ICRC generated fury w/ a Lavrov photo

A few did their best separating fact from fiction in Spaces I co-hosted, while discretely concealing Intel about water systems 🇷🇺 was 🚀🎯🔥

Surprising to me, ICRC has been front & center on water in UA all along!

blogs.icrc.org/ua/2018/06/26/…