Russians unable to fully blockade Ukrainian ports – Navy spokesperson
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The entry of three foreign ships into Izmail port in Odesa Oblast does not represent a breakthrough of the Russian Black Sea blockade, according to Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk on August 2.
That’s because the aggressor country does not have enough ships in the Black Sea to even maintain a full blockade, he said.
"In order to block a part of the sea, you need a suitable fleet, in large numbers - to physically prevent passage. This is not happening now. Therefore, to call it a breakthrough of the blockade, in my opinion, is an exaggeration," Pletenchuk said.
The foreign vessels followed standard routes, close to Ukraine’s coast in the littoral zone.
Russian warships aren’t able to enter this area, which extends more than 100 nautical miles from the coast. If they do, they’ll follow in the footsteps of the sunken Moskva, Pletenchuk said.
"The Russians threaten, intimidate, … without having any reason for this. They declared themselves the police force of the Black Sea, forgetting that this is a shared sea," he said.
Three cargo ships belonging to Greek, Israeli and Turkish-Georgian companies arrived at one of the grain terminals in the Danube Delta on July 30.
NATO aircraft closely monitored the ships as they headed to Izmael, reported ISW. The ships are likely to receive grain then return to the Black Sea and head to foreign ports.
The Greek and Israeli ships passed through the Bosphorus Strait, and the Turkish-Georgian ship came from northern Turkey.
The three freighters made no attempt to hide their intentions. They all turned on their radio repeaters, making their location and course visible to anyone with access to the internet and ship-tracking sites.
Russian troops attacked the port of Izmail on the night of Aug. 2, significantly damaging the administrative building.
Russia officially announced its withdrawal from Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, in reaction to explosions on the illegally built Crimean bridge. At the same time, Moscow withdrew "safety guarantees" for shipping in the Black Sea.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed to continue the grain agreement without the participation of the Russians — together with Turkey and the UN.
Russia announced on July 19 that it would consider all sea vessels bound for Ukrainian ports to be "military targets.”
In response, the Ukraine’s Defense Ministry warned that it will consider all ships bound for Russian ports in the Black Sea, as well as ports in the temporarily occupied territories, as "carrying cargo of military purpose, with all the relevant risks."
Earlier, the head of the press center of the Southern Security and Defense Forces Nataliya Humenyuk stated that there are signs that Russia is preparing for a blockade of the Black Sea.
She also reported that the aggressor country could attack a foreign ship in the Black Sea and attempt to blame Ukraine. The US State Department echoed this warning.
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