Ukraine asks Turkey to seize Russian ship carrying 7,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain: Report

Amid concerns over Moscow-Kyiv war causing an acute food crisis, Ukraine has called on Turkey to seize the ship carrying Ukrainian grain from a Russian-occupied part of the country to be seized. According to a BBC report, Kyiv made the request regarding a Russian-flagged ship, the Zhibek Zholy which left the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk for the Turkish port of Karasu. 

The report stated that it was unclear where the cargo came from or how it was obtained. It is to mention that Russian-flagged cargo, carrying 7,000 tonnes of grain is speculated to have been illegally moved out from Ukraine, as per the head of the monitoring group at the Institute for Strategic Black Sea Studies, Andrii Klymenko. The ship left the Ukrainian region amid accusations that Russia has been stealing grain from areas. Russia, however, has denied all allegations. 

While Berdyansk is in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region on the Sea of Azov, the news about the ship leaving the port was announced on social media by Yevhen Balytskyi, the recently-appointed governor of the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia. As per the report, Balytskyi said 7,000 tonnes of grain would be sent to "friendly" countries. He reportedly also said that ships from Russia's Black Sea Fleet would be "ensuring the security" of the journey. Balytskyi informed that the port was cleared of sea mines.

BBC stated that the governor of Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia later edited the post and removed references to the ship’s cargo and the destination. While Ukraine has called for the ship to be seized by authorities in Ankara, it remains unclear whether the ship intends to unload its cargo in the Turkish port of Karasu or continue its journey south through the Bosphorus Strait to an unknown location.

Ukraine claims Turkey has list of Russian-flagged vessels with illegal grain

It is reported that Turkey already has a list of Russian-flagged vessels, including the third parties that are involved in the illegal transfers of grain, including to the Turkish ports. Ukraine has appealed to Ankara to seize these vessels at the port. Ukrainian grain trader told Argus, “It is already a usual practice for Russian ships carrying grain stolen from Ukraine to switch off the transponders while loading at temporarily occupied Ukrainian ports”.

"And after that, they do not even have to sail to Russian ports to create an impression that they were loaded there, because the coordinates confirming that they 'left' Russian ports could be entered manually”, the trader added.

Image: AP