Comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the transportation of stolen Ukrainian grain by the Russian ship «Zhibek Zholy»

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the international partners of Ukraine strictly condemn the criminal actions of the Russian Federation regarding the abducting and transporting   grain from Ukrainian territory to foreign countries.

The attempt by Russian ship Zhibek Zholy to transport stolen Ukrainian grain from Russia occupied Berdyansk to the Turkish port of Karasu we consider as a particularly egregious violation.

Thanks to the prompt intervention of the relevant authorities of Ukraine, this vessel was made unable to unload the stolen grain and was detained. Besides that, a request was sent to the Turkish side to arrest the ship and its cargo.

At the same time, ignoring the appeal of the Ukrainian side, in the evening of July 6, the ship was released by Turkish authorities.

The Ukrainian side accepted the aforementioned inf ormation with deep disappointment and appeals to the Turkish side with an urgent request to investigate this situation and provide exhaustive answers to the requests of the relevant authorities of Ukraine, as well as to prevent similar cases in the future by all means.

In connection with this unacceptable situation, the Ambassador of Turkey in Kyiv was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

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