The Ministry of Defense of Russia showed a video of the forced stop of the Turkish ship "Sukru Okan", which was going to Izmail.
The footage shows armed Russian soldiers landing on the dry cargo and checking the documents at gunpoint. The agency claims that the dry cargo was inspected for the presence of military cargo.
The spokesman for the Naval Forces of Ukraine Dmytro Pletenchuk informed that there is currently no confirmed information that Russia opened fire. According to him, Russia is trying to create an "economic blockade" for Ukraine from the sea, because the export-import sea channel is the main one for Ukraine.
- On the morning of August 13, in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, the Russians stopped the civilian cargo ship "Sukru Okan" under the flag of Palau, which was heading to the Ukrainian port of Izmail. The Russian ship "Vasiliy Bykov" allegedly demanded that the "Sukru Okan" stop "for an inspection regarding the transportation of prohibited cargo," and the shipʼs captain did not respond. The occupiers claimed that they opened fire with small arms and sent Russian soldiers to the ship by helicopter. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that after the "inspection" the ship continued to move to the port of Izmail.