Since midnight Wednesday, Moscow time, Russia has been warning the world that any ship approaching a Ukrainian port “will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo.”
This obvious threat to sink commercial shipping appears to be an attempt to prevent ships from taking on Ukrainian grain. This week, Russia unilaterally ended talks on renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative that has allowed food to flow to other countries from Ukraine, despite the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Turkey to join him in a new arrangement to protect grain ships without Russia’s involvement. Turkey has yet to respond.
The threat to sink commercial shipping marks
