In the Black Sea, a Russian navy shoots warning shots at a cargo ship.

 

The first time Russia has fired on commercial ships outside of Ukraine since leaving a historic UN-mediated grain deal last month was on Sunday when a Russian destroyer fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwest Black Sea as it headed north.

Russia stopped taking part in the grain agreement for the Black Sea in July, preventing Ukraine from using the Black Sea to export its agricultural goods. All ships, according to Moscow, are potentially armed and sailing toward Ukrainian territorial waters.

In a statement released on Sunday, Russia claimed that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had opened fire with automatic weapons on the Sukru Okan ship, which was flying the flag of Palau, after the captain of the latter failed to stop the ship for an inspection.

The ship, according to Russia, was sailing in the direction of the Ukrainian port of Izmail. According to Refinitiv shipping data, the ship was now sailing toward the Sulina port in Romania while passing close to the Bulgarian coast.

The warship was forcibly stopped when warning fire from automatic weapons was opened, according to the Russian defense ministry.

According to the ministry, a Ka-29 chopper assisted the Russian troops when they boarded the ship.

The Sukru Okan continued toward the port of Izmail after the inspection group finished its job on board, according to the defence ministry.

According to a representative of the Turkish defense ministry, Ankara is investigating into reports that a ship bound for Romania was involved in an incident.