Turkey detains Russian cargo ship carrying grain from occupied Berdiansk

EUROPEAN PRAVDA — SUNDAY, 3 JULY 2022, 18:23

Turkish customs authorities detained a Russian cargo ship carrying grain stolen by Russian occupation forces and shipped via the port of Berdiansk.

European Pravda reports that Vasyl Bodnar, the ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey, announced this on air during the 24/7 national joint newscast.

"We are fully cooperating [with Turkey - ed.], the ship is anchored near the port entrance [the port of Karasu in Turkey - ed.]. It was detained by Turkish customs authorities. An interdepartmental meeting will be held tomorrow, at which the further fate of this ship will be decided," Bodnar said.

The ambassador added that the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has been forwarded [to Turkey - ed.] and Ukraine expects that the vessel will be arrested, the [Ukrainian - ed.] property will be confiscated and all those involved will be brought to justice.

"The circumstances surrounding this vessel are quite particular: it was the first one to use the temporarily [Russian-]occupied port of Berdiansk [in Ukraine - ed.] and then to try and enter a Turkish port. This attempt to create a corridor [between the Russian-occupied territories in the south of Ukraine and Turkey - ed.] in order to take advantage of the opportunity to steal [Ukrainian - ed.] property is illegal and, frankly, quite an impudence," said Bodnar.

Background: On 1 July, the Zhibek Zholy ship from the Russian-occupied Berdiansk entered the Turkish port of Karasu.

Yevhen Balytskyi, Russian-appointed head of the so-called, Russian-controlled "temporary administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast", reported that the ship was carrying 7,000 tons of Ukrainian grain stolen by the Russians from Berdiansk.

Zhibek Zholy is a dry cargo ship made in Russia for KTZ Express Shipping, a Kazakhstan-based shipping firm. It sails under the flag of the Russian Federation.