Ukraine will consider ships sailing to Russian-controlled ports in the Black Sea to be carrying military cargo
Starting 21 July 2023, all vessels travelling in the Black Sea in the direction of Russian seaports and seaports in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
In this way, the Ukrainian defence ministry responded to the Kremlin’s claims that ships heading to Ukrainian ports would allegedly be considered to be carrying military cargo.
The Ministry of Defence stressed that Russia has turned the Black Sea into a danger zone by threatening civilian ships carrying food from Ukrainian ports and attacking civilian infrastructure.
The statement refers to the threat primarily to “Russian vessels and vessels travelling in the Black Sea towards Russian seaports and Ukrainian seaports in the territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia”.
– Responsibility for all risks lies entirely with the Russian leadership. The fate of the Moscow cruiser proves that the Ukrainian Defence Forces have the necessary means to repel Russian aggression at sea,” the statement said.
The Ministry added that navigation in the areas of the North-Eastern Black Sea and the Kerch-Yenikal Strait of Ukraine is prohibited as dangerous, starting from 5 am on 20 July 2023. They added that the relevant navigational information for mariners has already been published.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defence of the aggressor country said that any vessel heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered a “potential carrier of military cargo”.
As a reminder, on 17 July, the day the grain deal expired, the Russian dictator’s secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would not extend it. According to him, Russia will allegedly return to the grain deal “immediately” after “its terms are fulfilled”.
