Russia attacks cargo ship outside grain corridor – Ukraine’s Navy spokesperson

Spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, told this on the national television, as reported by Ukrinform.

"Unfortunately, we had a similar case last year. Eventually, of course, it will become clear whether it was a targeted attack or an untargeted one. However, this does not change the fact that the Russians targeted a civilian vessel, regardless of whether it was the result of an irresponsible use of weapons, or a targeted attack. In any case, this incident occurred outside our grain corridor," he said.

According to the spokesperson, the Ukrainian grain corridor is operating in a stable mode. Also, the longest part of it passes through the territorial waters of the NATO member countries, which is why the Russians do not dare to create similar incidents there.

"In addition, these vessels are usually under foreign flags, and among the top countries that use the services of our grain corridor, are China (in the first place) and Spain (in the second place)," he added.

Pletenchuk noted that the Kh-22 anti-ship missile is an outdated weapon that is hardly produced any longer. Also, in order to launch it, strategic aircraft is used – this time it was a Tu-22, which indicates that the Russians do not dare to approach the Ukrainian coast using tactical aircraft.

As reported by Ukrinform, on Thursday, September 12, the Russians launched a missile attack in the Black Sea against a civilian vessel transporting grain from Ukraine to Egypt.