For the economic blockade of Ukraine, Russia additionally mined the sea routes to the Bosphorus

According to information provided by First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at a UN Security Council meeting, the Russian Navy has blocked 94 civilian ships in the Black Sea ports of Ukraine, designed to transport grain and other food. As of February 24, the ships have remained in ports as Russia has banned passage through the sea and two dry cargo ships have been shelled and damaged.

Since last Friday, the Russians have promised to open corridors for the withdrawal of foreign ships from Ukrainian ports, but so far no ship has dared to do so, given the risk of encountering drifting mines.

The invaders invented a new method of piracy - the use of uncontrolled drift mines, which have already been detected and cleared off the coasts of Turkey and Romania. In this way, the Russians are trying to intimidate carriers into refusing to enter small Black Sea and Danube ports.

On March 29, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry officially announced that there were no such munitions in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of early 2022, and such mines were seized by Russian troops in Crimea during the 2014 annexation and are now used to provoke and discredit Ukraine to international partners.

The responsibility for the possible consequences of the use of drifting mines lies solely with Russia and its naval forces, Ukraine said, urging the world to hold Russia internationally responsible for its crimes in the Black Sea.

Ukraine has informed the International Maritime Organization, as well as foreign partners, about Russia's use of drift mines in the Black Sea through the International Automated Maritime Navigation Safety System (NAVTEX), the Foreign Ministry said.