Russia fires warning shots at cargo ship in Black Sea

Russia’s Defense Ministry reports that service members on the Vasily Bykov, a patrol vessel in the Black Sea Fleet, fired warning shots to stop the cargo ship the Sukra Okan in the Black Sea.

The incident occurred on August 13, around 6:40 a.m. Moscow time in the south-western part of the Black Sea. The patrol ship noticed the cargo vessel, which was sailing under the flag of Palau toward Ukraine’s Port of Izmail and “did not respond to requests to stop for inspection for the transport of prohibited goods.”

“To force the vessel to stop, the Russian warship fired warning shots from automatic weapons. A Ka-29 helicopter carrying a group of Russian service members took off from the deck of the Vasily Bykov in order to inspect the cargo ship,” said the Defense Ministry.

The ministry added that during radio conversations the cargo shipped stopped, after which the Russian military boarded and conducted an inspection. At that point, the ship continued to the Port of Izmail.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that the “targeted fire and forced inspection” of the Sukra Okan “is a definite violation of international maritime law, an act of piracy, and a crime against civilian ships from third countries in the waters of another state.”