2023-08-01 16:27:36
Several ships have passed through Ukrainian waters despite the Russian naval blockade. According to media reports, their journey on the Black Sea was observed by NATO aircraft.
After Russia withdrew from the grain agreement, several ships sailed unmolested across the Black Sea towards the Ukrainian coast. The “Ams1”, registered under the flag of Sierra Leone, left the port of Istanbul last Saturday, as various ship tracking sites show, and is now on its way in the Danube Delta towards the port city of Ismail.
The last part of the route passed through Ukrainian waters in the Black Sea, and thus through the part of the sea for which there are no longer any safety guarantees. At the sea border is the “Khaled A”, sailing under the flag of Togo, which has also indicated Ismajil as its destination. She comes from a port in Romania. The freighters are probably supposed to load grain in Izmail and then try to transport it to a non-Russian port.
At the same time, according to data from the ship tracking sites, two other freighters, the “Almeria” and the “Florica” are leaving the Danube Delta and are now in Ukrainian waters on the Black Sea. The “Almeria” is to head for Burgas in Bulgaria.
Conflicting reports
The US magazine initially agreed that the naval blockade had been broken “Forbes“, the US research institute Institute for the Study of Wars as well as a Ukrainian military blog reported, but partly named other freighters. Some reports said that at least three ships had already reached Izmail. So far, this cannot be substantiated by the tracker data.
In mid-July, the Russian government lifted all security guarantees for ships that were to call at Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea with the grain agreement. The Russian Defense Ministry then declared all civilian ships in the sea legitimate military targets.
The Russian Foreign Ministry later explained that this meant inspections of the ships. In response, Ukraine announced that it would also take action once morest ships calling at Russian-controlled ports in the Black Sea.
No secret ride
It is currently unclear why the “Ams1” managed to sail through Ukrainian waters unmolested, whether it was due to a lack of will on the part of the Russian Navy, a lack of ability or other reasons. The data on the port of destination of the “Ams1” were and are generally accessible.
As “Forbes” writes, the ships’ journey was observed by several unarmed NATO aircraft and a drone. It is also unclear whether this had an influence on what happened.
Ukraine signs deal with Croatia
Since the Grains Agreement was scrapped, Ukraine has been trying to find other export routes to circumvent the Black Sea naval blockade. On Thursday, the country signed an agreement with Croatia on grain exports through ports on the Adriatic Sea.
The Foreign Ministry announced in Kiev that the agricultural products are to be shipped via the Danube. The freight is then to be brought to the Adriatic coast by rail. The export quantities that can be achieved with this have not been communicated.
After the end of the agreement, Russia repeatedly attacked Ukrainian seaports around Odessa and Danube ports with missiles and drones. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, 180,000 tons of grain were destroyed.
Ambassador calls for NATO protection
Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to press for NATO to protect Ukrainian grain shipments crossing the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, compared the missions of NATO and the EU in the Horn of Africa, in which ships were protected from pirates, to the newspapers “Rheinische Post” and “General-Anzeiger”.
No ship currently feels safe and free on the Black Sea, Makeiev said. Ukraine is able to supply many countries around the world with its agricultural products. His country has grain for 400 million people worldwide.
Russia reports defense once morest sea drones
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Black Sea Fleet had fended off three attacks by Ukrainian sea drones on its ships. Ukraine tried to attack the patrol ships “Sergei Kotov” and “Vassily Bykov” with unmanned explosive boats. The three objects were destroyed by the onboard weapons of the Russian ships.
The corvettes continue to carry out their patrols in the Black Sea around 340 kilometers southwest of the port city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally occupied and annexed.
Ukraine has repeatedly used sea drones once morest Russian naval ships and allegedly also once morest the bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia. The watercraft are said to be Ukrainian self-production. The US television channel CNN showed remote-controlled motorboats that can carry up to 300 kilograms of explosives 800 kilometers at the weekend.
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