The NATO-Ukraine Council’s previously announced first meeting, at which Russia's obstruction of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea was discussed, took place on 26 July.
Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction/Minister of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov opened the meeting on the Ukrainian side, the CFTS portal reports.
"In the past nine days alone, 26 port infrastructure facilities and five civilian vessels have been damaged or partially destroyed in Russian attacks. The Russians are also restricting shipping around the temporarily occupied Crimea and near the territorial waters of Bulgaria. By doing this, Russia is effectively blocking the passage of ships to Ukrainian seaports," Kubrakov said.
The terminal that was attacked in the Odesa region in the early hours of 27 July brought the number of damaged port facilities to 27.
Regarding the events at the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting, Kubrakov said that the two sides condemned Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its targeted missile and drone attacks on port infrastructure.
"We are discussing possible ways to counter the enemy's cynical attacks and obstruction of the freedom of merchant shipping. I am grateful to our NATO allies for their decision to step up their intelligence activities in the Black Sea. We hope this will help stabilize the security situation and create conditions for the resumption of normal operation of Ukrainian ports," the minister said.
As reported earlier, a report prepared for Russia’s military and political leadership recently came to light. In the report, Rear Admiral Eduard Luyk of the Russian Navy detailed how Russia’s representatives at the Black Sea Grain Initiative’s Joint Coordination Center used the center to sabotage the implementation of the grain initiative.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Main Intelligence Directorate, the document shows that all the actions taken to disrupt the grain deal were part of a single plan that was prepared in advance. The recent targeted attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure are just another step in its implementation.
