Oct. 5 (UPI) — British intelligence has issued a warning regarding potential Russian attacks on civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea, with the intention of placing blame on Ukraine.
The British government declassified information on Wednesday, which suggests that Russia could use sea mines to target civilian ships in the Black Sea, as part of their covert strategy to disrupt the global food supply.
The invasion of Kyiv by the Kremlin on Feb. 24, 2022, posed a threat to the delivery of grain and other food products from Ukraine, which is a major global supplier of agricultural goods.
In July 2022, the United Nations brokered the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed for commercial exports of food and fertilizers from three important Ukrainian ports. However, in July, Moscow allowed the agreement to expire, leading Kyiv to establish its own temporary humanitarian corridor from the port of Odessa in August.
Declassified British intelligence released on Wednesday states that Russia intends to target civilian shipping vessels traveling through Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor in order to prevent the export of grain from Kyiv and exert further economic pressure on the country.
Furthermore, the British intelligence suggests that Russia intends to avoid openly sinking the ships and plans to blame Ukraine for any attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea.
“The world is watching — and we see right through Russia’s cynical attempts to blame Ukraine for their attacks,” said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in a statement. “We and our allies stand united against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine and, in turn, the rest of the world.”
British intelligence has declassified and released this information in order to expose Russia’s plans.
In response, Britain is working with Ukraine and other allies to enhance shipping safety measures. London has also deployed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to monitor Russian activities in the Black Sea and attribute any further attacks.
According to Britain, Russia has been accused of causing damage to 130 port infrastructure facilities and nearly 300,000 tons of grain since withdrawing from the agreement.
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