Kyiv and Moscow exchange threats to bomb merchant ships

 Following the termination of the grain agreement, Ukraine and Russia threatened to bomb commercial ships in the Black Sea as military targets. While Moscow increased "retaliatory strikes" against southern Ukraine in retaliation for the attack on the Crimean bridge, the Ukrainian army denied Russian forces were making progress in the Kharkiv province (northeast).

Today, Thursday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that from tomorrow, Friday, ships sailing in the Black Sea toward Russia will be regarded as "potential military (target) ships."

The ministry further stated that "all ships sailing in the waters of the Black Sea in the direction of Russian ports and Ukrainian ports located on the temporarily occupied territories by Russia, may be considered to be carrying military goods with all the risks associated with this."

Additionally, the Kerch Strait off the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the northeastern portion of the Black Sea have been off-limits for sailing as of today, Thursday, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The Black Sea's waters have been temporarily declared dangerous for navigation, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, which also added that as of last night, all ships traveling to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea would be treated as carrying military cargo.

The Russian threats to use force against civilian ships in the Black Sea were sharply criticized by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, called from Islamabad to urge the renewal of the Black Sea grain export deal to combat global food hunger, but he emphasized that it is challenging to resume export due to Russia's bombing of Ukrainian ports and infrastructure.

Russia was prepared to strike ships in the Black Sea and blame Ukraine, a US official told AFP.

UN Security Council will meet in open session tomorrow, Friday, to examine Russia's suspension of the grain agreement, according to the British representation to the UN in New York.

The deal had run out last Monday and Moscow had refused to renew it, warning Kiev against continuing to implement it independently as the West decried the Russian action.

Ukrainian fleet was nearly wiped out at the start of the conflict that started in late February 2022, but Kyiv continued to launch anti-ship missile attacks or use marine drones to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Additionally, on the ground, Andrei Kovalev, a spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff, stated today, Thursday, that his nation's soldiers are continuing their onslaught in the areas of Bakhmut, Donetsk (east), Melitopol, and Berdyansk, Zaporizhia (southeast).

Kovalev refuted claims that Russian soldiers were moving toward Kobyansk, Kharkiv (northeast), and Liman in Donetsk, adding that all Russian strikes there had been repulsed by Ukrainian forces.

Moscow declared yesterday that its troops had taken control of Kupyansk's railway station, a crucial crossroads for transportation in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its troops had thwarted 16 attempts by Ukrainian forces to attack them in Donetsk.

Ukrainian army had already acknowledged that Moscow had sent out 100,000 troops to try and breach its fortifications in some of Donetsk and Kharkiv.

Ukrainian officials acknowledge the difficulty of the situation given the fierce resistance put up by the Russians and the substantial fortifications they have erected over the past months. Since last June 4, the Ukrainian army has launched a counterattack in the provinces of Donetsk and Zaporizhia, but it has so far only recovered 210 square kilometers.

Source: Agencies