The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine condemned Russiaʼs provocations regarding the Turkish civilian ship "Sukru Okan", which was heading to the port of Izmail. The day before, the Russian Federation attacked a Turkish ship in the territorial waters of Turkey.
"Russia has violated the Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other norms of international law. Such actions became another example of Russiaʼs purposeful policy of creating threats to the freedom of navigation and the security of commercial shipping in the Black Sea. We express support and solidarity with Turkey as our strategic partner and call on the international community to take decisive measures to facilitate the peaceful passage of ships in the Black Sea," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.
- In the morning of August 13, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that in the Black Sea, a Russian ship opened "warning" fire at the dry cargo ship "Sukru Okan" under the flag of Palau. The occupiers claim that they did this because the vessel did not respond to requests to stop for inspection. The Russians opened fire with small arms and sent Russian soldiers to the ship by helicopter.
- The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation claims that after the "inspection" the ship continued to move to the port of Izmail.