Kyiv Says Turkey Detains Russian Cargo Ship Believed To Be Carrying Ukrainian Grain

By RFE/RL July 03, 2022

Ukraine's ambassador to Ankara said Turkish authorities have detained a Russian cargo ship that is believed to be carrying stolen Ukrainian grain that Kyiv says set off from Berdyansk, a Ukrainian port occupied by Russian forces.

"We have full cooperation," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said on Ukrainian television on July 3. "The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port. It has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey."

Turkish officials did not immediately comment.

Kyiv on July 1 said it had asked Ankara to detain a Russian-flagged cargo ship, the Zhibek Zholy, because it was carrying grain stolen from Ukraine.

"Based on instruction from the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General, we asked the Turkish side to take corresponding measures," Bodnar said on Twitter.

"I am confident that the decisions to be taken [by Turkey] will prevent attempts to violate Ukraine's sovereignty," Bodnar said.

Marinetraffic.com said the 140-meter general-cargo vessel Zhibek Zholy was sailing under the Russian flag. It showed the ship late on July 1 anchored about a kilometer off Turkey's Black Sea port of Karasu.

On June 30, Evgeny Balitsky, head of the Moscow-appointed administration in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region, said on Telegram that the ship had left the Berdyansk port and was headed for "friendly countries."

He said the ship was loaded with 7,000 tons of grain, but he did not specify which countries were considered friendly nor did he give any details on the origins of the grain.

Bodnar said investigators would meet on July 4 to determine the ship's fate and that Ukraine was seeking return of the grain.

Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain during the invasion and blockading its ports to keep grain from leaving the country, which has contributed to a global food shortage.

Moscow has denied taking Ukrainian grain, but satellite images and GPS data have been used to back up the allegations that Russia has been transporting grain out of Ukraine through the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

Grain is one of Ukraine's main industries. Exports totaled $12.2 billion last year and accounted for nearly one-fifth of the country's exports. Ukraine's Black Sea ports, including Berdyansk, handled about 6 million tons of grains and other crops each month before the war.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-detains-russian- cargo-ship-ukraine-grain/31927048.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.