Russia will try to intercept commercial ships in Black Sea – UK intelligence

Great Britain’s military intelligence on Wednesday said Russia will try to intercept commercial ships in the Black Sea, following the suspension of the grain agreement brokered last year to export wheat and agricultural products from Ukraine. 

 

It claimed the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been regrouped and its warship Sergey Kotov had been sent to the southern part of the Black Sea to patrol between the Bosphorus Strait and Odessa. British military intelligence did not rule out the warship would be part of the operational group assigned to arrest commercial ships.

 

On July 25, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that the armed forces of Ukraine unsuccessfully attempted to attack Sergey Kotov with unmanned cutters, with Kyiv making no response. 

 

According to British military intelligence, the grain deal helped to contain hostilities in the Black Sea and its termination could increase the intensity and scale of violence.