Reports indicate Russia disabling identification systems on civilian vessels in Black Sea

Russia continues to turn off identification sensors en masse on its civilian vessels in the Black Sea, stated the head of the Department of Naval Forces of the National Defense University of Ukraine, Captain 1st rank Stepan Yakymyak, Military Media Center reports.

Russian-flagged ships very often carry out illegal cargo transportation – primarily, this concerns oil, he stressed.

For illegal transportation, the Russians use the territorial waters of Ukraine on the territory of Crimea and other areas, which is a violation of International Maritime Law.

"The International Maritime Organization recommends the use of sensors on every ship that provide data on where the vessel is, under whose flag, what mission, etc. This is done to ensure safety and transparency," Yakymyak noted.

According to him, Russia disables sensors en masse, constantly and every day.

On July 19, 2023, Russia announced that starting from July 20, it will consider countries whose ships go to the ports of Ukraine to be "involved in the conflict."

In response, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine warned that from July 21, all vessels heading in the Black Sea towards Russian seaports and temporarily occupied Ukrainian seaports may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military goods.

On the morning of August 4, explosions rang out in Novorossiysk in the south of the Russian Federation – the SBU together with the Navy conducted a special operation with naval drones in the bay of the Russian city: the Olenegorsk Miner military landing ship was damaged.

On August 4, Ukraine officially declared the water area of six Russian ports – Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi and Taman – a zone of military threat.

In the early hours of August 5, near the Crimean Bridge, a Russian SIG tanker, which was supplying the occupation forces with fuel, was attacked and damaged.