Ukraine has requested an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting for July 27 after Russian attacks brought all shipping through its Black Sea maritime corridor to a halt, according to Kyiv Post. Acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no vessels passed through the corridor Wednesday, at the height of the harvest season.
Sybiha said Russia has struck at least three civilian cargo vessels in recent days, leaving dozens of crew members killed or injured, Kyiv Post reported. He called the halt in shipping “deliberate economic and humanitarian terror”. He compared Russia’s targeting of Black Sea food routes to Iran’s attacks on energy shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption follows a string of deadly strikes on commercial shipping. Three Russian cruise missiles struck the cargo ship Golden Leo as it left the corridor with a load of grain on July 19, killing ten people, according to the Ukrainian Navy. Four Indian nationals were among the dead, according to Marine Insight, prompting India’s Ministry of External Affairs to condemn the strike and summon a Russian diplomat over the incident.
Danish shipping giant Maersk announced the same day that it was suspending service to Ukraine through the port of Chornomorsk, citing the heightened risk of attacks, and said it would reroute cargo through Constanta, Romania, instead.
