Ukraine has proposed that Russia establish a ceasefire in the Black Sea
13 August 20:53
Ukraine, through an intermediary, has sent Russia a proposal for a mutual ceasefire regarding attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea, a source told Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
This came after the British publication Lloyd’s List, a leading international maritime trade journal, called the Black Sea “the deadliest region for shipping.”
According to the Reuters source, Kyiv has not yet received a response to its proposal.
In recent months, Ukraine has used drones to target Russian ships in the Azov and Black Seas in an effort to cut off supplies to Crimea and disrupt oil exports by tankers belonging to the shadow fleet.
In recent days, the strikes have expanded to include grain terminals in Novorossiysk; container ships have come under fire, as have the terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and vessels transporting Kazakhstani oil.
Russia, meanwhile, has begun striking not only ports in the Odesa region but also civilian vessels entering them, including foreign ones. The strikes are being carried out with ballistic missiles, against which Ukraine’s air defense has no protection due to a lack of American Patriot interceptors.
In July, about 15 ships per day were calling at the ports of Odesa, but by the end of the month, that number had dropped to one or two, Andriy Stavnitser, co-owner and CEO of Ukraine’s largest private port operator, Transinvestservice, told the Financial Times. In August, according to Kpler, shipping came to a complete halt.
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In June and July, according to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian military attacked at least 50 cargo ships, killing more than 30 people, The New York Times reports.
Among them was the dry cargo ship Golden Leo, which left the port of Chornomorsk on July 19 after loading a shipment of grain. As the NYT reported, the second mate, Sebastian Blesson of India, said that he had been to Ukraine many times over the past eight months, but on this last voyage, the intensity of the Russian attacks was far greater than anything he had seen on previous voyages.
When the Golden Leo had sailed 6.4 km from the port, a Russian missile struck its hull. As a result, 10 crew members and a Ukrainian pilot were killed, and the ship sank.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones, in addition to targeting tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet, attacked Turkish vessels and sank the Fesco container ship “Yanina,” which was sailing from India, near Novorossiysk. As a result, one of Russia’s largest container carriers suspended its voyages through the Black Sea.
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