VIDEO. A freighter heading for Ukraine stopped and searched by Russian soldiers after warning shots

2023-08-16 03:04:09

In the images edited and published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, armed soldiers point their weapons at members of the crew of the cargo ship Sukru Okan, after boarding. According to Moscow, the ship was boarded on August 13, to be inspected by the Russian fleet as it headed for a Ukrainian port. Warning shots were first fired at the ship to force it to stop, according to the Russian ministry. “In order to force the boat to stop, warning shots were fired from light automatic weapons from a Russian warship,” he said on Telegram.

According to Russia, the captain of the Palau-flagged vessel, the Sukru Okan, did not react to an order to stop for “an inspection concerning the carriage of prohibited goods”. A helicopter with armed Russian servicemen then took off to inspect the ship, which was eventually allowed to continue on to the Ukrainian port.

For its part, Ukraine denounces a “provocation” on the part of the Russians, in a context of increasing tensions in the Black Sea, since Moscow ended the agreement on grain exports last July. On July 19, Moscow warned that any ship heading to or leaving Ukrainian ports would be considered “a potential target”. kyiv had reacted by affirming the reciprocal for the Russian ships. Since then, the number of attacks in the Black Sea has increased on both sides.