The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania defined as an “unprecedented escalation” the attack by the Russian armed forces in the Black Sea against a commercial ship carrying grain, Agerpress agency reported. The ministry strongly condemned the attack, BTA reported.
„This event represents an unprecedented escalation of the actions of the Russian Federation in the illegal and unjustified war that began against Ukraine. "The deliberate attack on a merchant ship is a serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, which regulates the conduct of war at sea," the Romanian ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry strongly calls on the Russian Federation to cease all attacks on merchant ships and to respect the freedom of navigation enjoyed by the Black Sea states.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemns the violation of the UN Charter by the Russian Federation through the systematic and irresponsible bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure and grain-carrying ships. The actions of the Russian Federation threaten global food security, the statement quoted by Agerpress states.
A Russian missile hit a merchant ship in the Black Sea carrying grain from Ukraine to Egypt, and there were no reports of casualties, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday, as quoted by Reuters.
A shipping industry source told Reuters the ship was struck overnight in “Romanian waters” near the mouth of the Danube River in the Black Sea, while Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletnchuk said the ship was in the “Maritime Economic Zone” of Romania. It is not clear whether these statements refer to Romanian territorial waters or to Romania's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Agerpress points out.
Meanwhile, Romanian Naval Administration spokeswoman Irina Puskas told Reuters that the grain ship, which Ukraine says was hit by a Russian missile overnight, was not in Romanian territorial waters, Agerpress reports. "All I can tell you about this ship is that it was not in our territorial waters at the time," the spokeswoman said. Besides, “we have not been asked for any help,”, she added.