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Russia firing at ship in Black Sea ‘violation of intl law, piracy and a crime’: Kyiv

Ukraine denounced on Sunday Russia’s warship firing “warning shots” at a civilian cargo ship in the Black Sea because it allegedly refused the Russian demand to stop. Kyiv said Moscow’s actions constituted a “clear violation of international law of the sea”, an “act of piracy” and a “crime”.

Russia’s defense ministry said the Russian naval ship Vasily Bykov forcibly stopped the Palau-flagged dry cargo ship Sukru Okan heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail for inspection, state news agency TASS reported.

“At about 6:40 a.m. Moscow time on August 13, the Black Sea Fleet’s patrol ship Vasily Bykov on a mission to patrol shipping lanes detected the Palau-flagged dry cargo ship Sukru Okan in the southwestern part of the Black Sea heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail. The dry cargo ship’s captain did not respond to the demand to stop for an inspection of the potential carriage of prohibited goods. The Russian combat ship fired warning shots from automatic small arms to forcibly stop the vessel,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.

A Ka-29 helicopter with a group of Russian servicemen took off from the patrol ship Vasily Bykov to inspect the dry cargo ship. Following the results of radio talks, the vessel came to a halt and the inspection team landed on the dry cargo ship, the ministry said.

It added: “After the inspection group completed its work aboard the Sukru Okan, the vessel continued sailing towards the port of Izmail. The Black Sea Fleet’s ships continue patrols in the designated areas.”

This was the first such incident since Russia announced in July that it will start considering all vessels traveling on the Black Sea heading to Ukrainian ports as “potential military cargo carriers”. It also declared a number of areas in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea as “temporarily dangerous for navigation,” and adding that the flag countries of ships traveling to Ukrainian ports will be considered parties to the conflict on Kyiv’s side.

Kyiv strongly condemned Moscow’s actions and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top adviser Mykhailo Podolyak disparaged the Russian measures enforced on a civilian cargo ship bearing the flag of Palau.

Podolyak said: “Today's deliberate attack and forced inspection by Russia of Sukru Okan international civilian bulk carrier, which was en route to the Ukrainian port of Izmail, is 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.”

He added: “This precedent with the attempt to introduce a ‘Letter of Marque and Reprisal’ requires clear legal fixation, identification of all persons and recognition of the fact of the crime by the international community. Ukraine will draw all the necessary conclusions and choose the best possible response.”

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