Ukraine issues coastal warning on threat of military action near Russia's Black Sea ports
Ukraine has issued a coastal warning about the threat of military action in the waters of six Russian ports in the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian State Hydrographic Service at the State Service of Maritime and River Transport posted the relevant coastal warning, numbered 118/23, on its website on Aug. 4.
The warning pertains to the waters of the internal and external areas of the ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman.
The warning runs from 12.00 noon on Aug. 4 until further notice.
The move comes after Moscow on July 17 withdrew from a UN-Turkey brokered grain deal to allow Ukraine to export grain from its sea ports. Announcing its abandonment of the deal, the Kremlin also revoked its guarantees of maritime safety in the Black Sea.
Then, on July 19, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that starting from the next day, all civilian vessels entering Ukrainian ports would be considered "military targets." From July 19, the Kremlin launched a missile and drone bombing campaign against Ukrainian grain terminals and port infrastructure in the south of the country.
In response to the Russian threats, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry warned that all vessels bound for Russian ports in the Black Sea, as well as ports in occupied territories, would be treated as "carrying military cargo with all corresponding risks." They also reminded the Russians of the fate of the Black Sea flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva, which Ukrainian forces sank in May 2022.
The coastal warning was issued on the same day the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Russian amphibious assault ship of the Northern Fleet, was badly damaged in a Ukrainiansea drone attack on Russia’s Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar Krai region overnighton Aug. 4.
Ukraine’s SBU security service reported that one of Ukraine’s sea attack drones, armed with 450 kilograms of TNT, had struck the Russian ship during a joint operation with the Ukrainian Navy.
Video footage of the attack taken from the drone’s onboard camera was soon released and began circulating on social media. The Russian vessel was later videos and pictured listing heavily to port (left) as it was being towed by to the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk.
Anothertarget was the Russian chemicals and oil tanker SIG, which was attackedovernight on Aug. 5 as it neared the Kerch Bridge linking Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
The tanker was transporting fuel for the Russian military. The SBU has once again confirmed its involvement in the special operation.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
