Russia claims it opened fire to stop bulk carrier on its way to Izmail

The Russian Ministry of Defense released information with its version of the incident.

The fire, as noted, was launched from the patrol ship Vasily Bykov.

"The captain of the bulk carrier did not respond to the request to stop for inspection for the transportation of prohibited goods. To force the vessel to stop, the Russian warship opened warning fire from automatic small arms," Russia explained.

In addition, a Ka-29 helicopter with a group of Russian servicemen was lifted from the Vasily Bykov to inspect the cargo ship.

"According to the results of radio conversations, the vessel stopped moving, and the inspection team boarded the cargo ship. After the inspection team completed its work on board the Sukru Okan, the vessel continued to the port of Izmail," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the Odesa newspaper Dumska.net, information from open sources indicates that a Russian ship forced a cargo ship to stop near the Bosphorus.

“The incident happened close to the Bosphorus. Tracking services show that the Sukru Okan passed through the strait on August 12 around 11:30 p.m. After that, it changed direction to the northwest and turned off its tracking system (AIS) about an hour and a half later. This means we don't know where it went next. Around 10:45 a.m., the cargo ship was near the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, moving north along the coast. This suggests that the ship might be on its way to Odesa, using the usual route along the coasts of NATO countries such as Turkey, Bulgaria, and then Romania. This route is commonly used by Ukrainian exporters for their agricultural products, especially since the full-scale invasion began,” the article says.

It's possible that Russian ships are patrolling near the Bosphorus and trying to intercept ships that unintentionally cross into Turkish territorial waters during maneuvers. If not, this action would be a bold violation of the maritime sovereignty of a NATO member state.

As of 2:30 p.m., according to publicly available data from MarineTraffic, the cargo ship Sukru Okan was near the Bulgarian city of Ahtopol.

The news is being updated.