The Sukru Okan has stopped in the Black Sea. Photo: YORUK ISIK/REUTERS
A Russian warship fired warning shots. intercepted a cargo ship bound for Ukraine for the first time since a grain deal collapsed last month.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Vasily Bykov fired a machine gun to force the Sukra Okan to stop at Black Sea, and then boarded a sea helicopter.
“After the completion of the work of the inspection team on board the Sukru Okan, the ship continued to move to the port of Izmail,” the message says. Izmail is a Ukrainian port on the Danube River.
Sukru Okan is a 34-year-old bulk carrier named after the Turkish admiral. Maritime data showed that while the ship flies the flag of Palau, a Pacific island nation, the Sukru Okan is based in Istanbul and operated by a Turkish company. Civilian cargo ships often sail under different flags to cut costs and reduce red tape.
A UN-brokered grain deal that allowed ships to dock in Ukraine to load grain after Russian officials checked them for arms smuggling fell through because the Kremlin said Ukraine refused to reopen the ammonia pipeline.
0308 recent Russian Attacks on Grain Infrastructure
Rybar, a Telegram channel linked to the Russian military, reported that during an intercept at dawn, the Sukra Okan tried to outrun and outmaneuver the Vasily Bykov near Turkish and Bulgarian waters.
“The crew of the ship did not respond to requests from Russian sailors. The transponder was turned off on the Sukra Okan, and the cargo ship, picking up speed, tried to leave,” the message says.
Vasily Bykov is one of the new Russian patrol boats of project 22160 and may be armed with cruise missiles, as well as anti-submarine weapons and helicopters.
It attacked Zmeiny Island in the northwestern sector of the Black Sea on the first day of the war last year, along with the Russian warship Moskva, and has since been the target of several unsuccessful Ukrainian attacks.
Kiev and Moscow have warned that after the collapse of the grain deal, they will treat the cargo ships as arms smugglers and intercept them. Last week, a Ukrainian military drone struck a ship used by the Kremlin to export jet fuel to Syria.
But despite the threats, Ukraine has said it is determined to pave the way for cargo ships calling at Izmail, and its port authorities said this week that a scheme to facilitate ship-to-ship cargo loading would «increase cargo handling volumes.» .
0308 Ukrainian wheat recipients under the Black Sea Grain Agreement
U.S. drones and combat air reconnaissance aircraft also guided cargo ships through the Russian blockade, with the first three ships docked in Izmail on July 30.
Tem Meanwhile, Russia shelled Kherson in southern Ukraine on Sunday, killing a three-week-old baby and her 12-year-old brother.
The children's parents also died in the attack on the village of Shirokaya Balka, along with another man.
Two people were killed in the neighboring village of Stanislav, including the pastor of the church, Governor Alexander Prokudin said.
These The attacks follow an alleged attempt by Ukraine to launch a missile attack on the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to the Crimean peninsula.
Russia said the missiles were shot down and caused no harm. damage.
Kyiv liberated part of Kherson from Russian occupation in November last year, but Kremlin troops continue to shell the capital of the region and the surrounding areas from behind the Dnieper.
Also on Sunday, Sergei Dienko , head of the Ukrainian border troops, opened a new yellow-and-blue-striped border post on Zmeiny Ostrov, marking it as part of Ukraine.
Further along the Ukrainian coast, Odessa has reopened its beaches to tourists for the first time since the start of the war. three weeks after a Russian missile destroyed its 18th-century cathedral and part of its imperial-era center.
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