The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation showed footage of the inspection of the dry cargo ship “Shyukryu Okan”

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation released the footage of the inspection by the Russian group of the Shyukryu Okan cargo ship, which was stopped by the Black Sea Fleet patrol ship “Vasily Bykov” on August 13. On that day, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation itself distributed information about the inspection in the Black Sea of ​​a dry cargo under the flag of Palau, which was bound for the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

“The video captures the overflight of the Russian Ka-29 helicopter that did not comply with the requirements to stop the Sukra Okan cargo ship, the moments of the disembarkation of a group of Russian servicemen on the ship, the verification of documentation and the carrying out of inspections in the ship’s premises for the purpose of checking the presence of prohibited cargo,” the text says , which accompanies the record laid out by the defense department. It is also noted that a protocol was drawn up as a result of the inspection, after which the ship continued its movement to Izmail.

On the record, the crew members of the ship, on board of which Russian soldiers are disembarked with weapons, are shown on their knees and with their hands behind their heads. The military ask the captain in English why he didn’t stop the dry cargo. With the help of a colleague who translates into English, the captain answers that he “misunderstood.”

On August 13, it was reported that the Russian patrol ship opened warning fire on Sunday morning, demanding that the dry cargo ship “Shyukryu Okan” stop moving. The shots were allegedly fired after the cargo ship’s crew did not respond to the demand to stop.

The authorities of Ukraine, commenting on the incident, called the actions of the Russian side “an open disregard for the rights of the Black Sea states to free navigation and the peaceful passage of their vessels through the territorial sea of ​​coastal countries.” Kyiv called on the international community to respond to the situation.

This is the first case of shelling of a commercial vessel outside Ukrainian ports since Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement, which guaranteed the unimpeded export of agricultural products by sea from Ukraine, notes the Russian service of the BBC.

The representative of the Turkish company, which owns the dry cargo, said that the vessel was empty at the time of the inspection. According to him, the dry cargo was headed to the Ukrainian port for grain, writes “Meduza”.

• The Russian military previously stated that after the termination of the grain corridor on July 17, they would consider merchant ships going to Ukrainian ports as military targets.
• The grain deal, according to which food is exported from Black Sea ports blocked by Russia, was concluded in July last year with the assistance of Turkey and the UN. The agreement was extended several times. The last time was May 17.
• Russia claims that the part of the transaction concerning the export of Russian food and fertilizer was not implemented. Moscow emphasizes that it is ready to return to the agreement as soon as all its interests are taken into account.