Moscow said on Sunday that several warning shots were fired from a warship at a cargo ship bound for the Ukrainian port city of Izmail.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov spotted a cargo ship flying the flag of Palau “heading for that port.
The captain of the freighter Sukru Okan did not respond to requests to stop and conduct an “inspection of the carriage of prohibited goods”.
In this regard, “to force the ship to stop, automatic small arms fire warning shots were fired from a Russian warship,” the ministry said in a statement.
A helicopter carrying Russian troops was later deployed to inspect the ship, the statement said.
After the inspection was completed, Sukru Okan was allowed to continue his journey.
Izmail is now the main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products.
After Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea agreement in July, Moscow attacked seaports in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, which were essential for the grain exports guaranteed by the agreement.
Source: DN
