Ukraine informed that a civilian cargo vessel had exited Odesa’s port, despite the possibility of a Russian attack on cargo ships in the Black Sea.
Kyiv said Wednesday that a civilian cargo vessel had exited its southern port of Odesa despite warnings from Russia that its navy could target any ships using Ukraine’s Black Sea export hubs.
The announcement, which raises the specter of a standoff with Russian warships, came hours after Ukraine said it had liberated a village as part of a grinding push to wrest Moscow’s forces along the southern front.
Russia issued its maritime threat after scuppering a key deal last month, brokered by the UN and Turkey, that guaranteed safe passage for grain shipments from three Ukrainian ports.
Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte left Wednesday morning from the port of Odesa, one of three that participated in the now-scrapped grain export deal.
The Joseph Schulte was hugging the Ukrainian coast and moving in the direction of Vylkove in southern Ukraine, a Maritime tracking website showed as of 2:20 pm local time (1120 GMT).
Since Russia exited the accord in July, it has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure and facilities Kyiv uses to export grain through the Danube River.
The possibility of a Russian attack on cargo ships in the Black Sea increased after Moscow said it fired warning shots from a warship at a cargo vessel heading towards Izmail last week.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
