Russia could use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including by placing them near Ukrainian ports, the British government said on Wednesday, citing intelligence services, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian grain warehouse hit by Russian dronesPhoto: Odesa Regional Administration Press Office / AP / Profimedia
Russia in July scrapped an agreement that allowed Ukraine to safely ship food through what is traditionally its main export corridor.
Ukraine responded by creating a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo ships, and since then more ships have left Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Britain has said that, according to its assessment, Russia is trying to target civilian shipping traveling through the humanitarian corridor to deter the export of Ukrainian grain.
“Russia almost certainly wants to avoid overtly sinking civilian ships, instead it will falsely blame Ukraine for any attack against civilian ships in the Black Sea,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.
“By publishing our assessment of this information, the UK is seeking to expose Russia’s tactics to deter such an incident from occurring,” the statement added.
Last month, Britain accused Russia of targeting a civilian cargo ship in port in the Black Sea on August 24 in a missile attack it said was successfully countered by Ukrainian defences.
Britain has said it is working with Ukraine and other partners to implement measures to improve navigational safety and is using its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea.
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