Russia has attacked more than 200 merchant ships since the start of the war
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 200 civilian merchant ships have been damaged as a result of its attacks. Kuleba reported this.
According to him, more than 70 such incidents have been recorded since the beginning of this year alone, indicating a significant escalation of attacks on civilian maritime infrastructure.
“I called on the international maritime community to clearly call things by their proper names: attacks on civilian vessels, port infrastructure, and seafarers are not ‘incidents’ or ‘navigational risks.’ These are acts of aggression by the Russian Federation. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 264 civilians have been affected by Russian strikes, more than 960 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and over 200 civilian vessels have been attacked,” Kuleba emphasized.
In recent weeks, Russian strikes have once again targeted merchant ships and even Ukrainian conventional search-and-rescue vessels carrying out a humanitarian mission to assist civilian seafarers.
Despite this, Ukraine continues to ensure the operation of the maritime corridor, defend freedom of navigation, and fulfill its international obligations.
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister urged participants to bear in mind that all seaports in the temporarily occupied territories remain officially closed in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and international maritime law. This is reflected in the IMO’s Global Information System (GISIS). Any ship calls at these ports are illegal. At present, the Russian Federation continues to use these ports to illegally export Ukrainian resources and supply its armed forces.
“We call on flag and port states, shipowners, operators, and insurers worldwide to refrain from any activities that could facilitate this or legitimize the occupation,” Kuleba said.
He once again reiterated the demand to expel the aggressor country from the IMO.
A separate section of his speech was devoted to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” whose activities pose a serious threat to the safety of navigation, human life at sea, and the environment. Ukraine, together with its international partners, has consistently raised this issue, calling on states, shipowners, operators, and insurers to refrain from any activities that could facilitate the circumvention of sanctions and the financing of the aggressor’s war machine.
The Ministry of Development noted that Ukraine’s statement during the IMO Council meeting was supported by the delegations of Cyprus (on behalf of EU member states), the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, and the European Commission.
This was announced during a speech at the 137th session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council by Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery—Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba, according to the official’s Telegram channel.
During the morning shelling on July 6, Russian terrorists struck the DAO sorting terminal of the “Nova Poshta” company in Dnipro. The strike caused a fire on the premises, which rescue workers quickly extinguished.
The Russians last launched a massive attack on Ukraine on the night of July 2. On that occasion, Russian forces launched 496 UAVs of various types and 74 missiles—including air-, ground-, and sea-based missiles of various types—at Ukraine.
