A Ukrainian official called on Turkey to take action to prevent the crossing of its country’s grain stolen by Russia, which is transported through the Turkish Straits to the Syrian coast. The Ukrainian ambassador in Ankara, Vasyl Bodnar, issued a statement calling on Turkey to close the Bosphorus Strait in front of a ship loaded with nineteen thousand tons of Ukrainian grain.
He added that the ship’s cargo was stolen from Sebastopol warehouses and that its on route to the Syrian coast of Latakkia, according to Syria TV agency.
The ship, named Phoenicia, reportedly hoists the flag of the Assad regime and it belongs to a small shipping company subject to US sanctions, called Syriamar, which owns a small fleet comprising three naval vessels.
A few days ago, Ukrainian Intelligence accused Russia of stealing grain from the areas it occupies in the southern parts of the country and transporting it on cargo ships, carrying the Russian flag, to the Syrian coasts and the Mediterranean.
Reportedly, Russia uses the Syrian port of Tartus, which is under its control, to receive the stolen Ukrainian grain.
