Sunday marked the first time since Russia’s withdrawal from a historic grain deal brokered by the United Nations a month ago that a Russian warship fired on commercial shipping beyond Ukraine. The ship in question was transporting cargo from the south through the southwestern Black Sea on its way north.
In July, Russia canceled its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, which had allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products via the Black Sea. Any vessel entering Ukrainian waters is presumed to be smuggling arms, according to Moscow.
Russia released a statement on Sunday saying that the patrol ship Vasily Bykov fired automatic weapons at the Palauan-flagged Sukru Okan after the ship’s captain ignored a request to stop for an inspection.
Russia claims that the ship was en route to the Ukrainian port of Izmail. The ship was currently off the coast of Bulgaria, en route to the port of Sulina in Romania.
Russian military personnel boarded the ship using a Ka-29 helicopter, according to the Russian defense ministry. “Following the conclusion of the inspection, the Sukru Okan resumed its voyage to the port of Izmail.”
An official from the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that Ankara was investigating reports of an incident involving a ship bound for Romania.
A senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that the incident constituted a “clear violation of international law of the sea, an act of piracy, and a crime against civilian vessels of a third country in the waters of other states.”