Russia's Lavrov accuses Ukraine of "pure terrorism" over attacks on vessels in Black Sea, Sea of Azov

Moscow [Russia], July 15 (ANI): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labelled Ukraine's attacks on commercial vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea as "pure terrorism", saying the strikes were intended to spread fear rather than achieve military objectives.

Speaking during a joint press conference with Chad's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul, Lavrov alleged that Kyiv's actions were intended solely to spread fear and inflict damage.

"What the Ukrainian regime is doing goes beyond piracy. At least pirates plunder for their own gain. Here, however, it benefits no one. The sole purpose is simply to cause damage and spread fear. It's pure terrorism," Lavrov said.

He further claimed that such actions were not limited to the Sea of Azov but extended to the Black Sea and other regions.

"Such terrorist attacks are taking place not only in the Sea of Azov but in the Black Sea as well. Yesterday, Turkish media reported a new series of fairly serious attacks by Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels against Turkish ships, including tankers and other vessels transporting Turkish cargo. This is by far not the first such incident, not to mention that the infrastructure of the Blue Stream gas pipeline, which transports natural gas to Turkiye, is regularly targeted in terrorist attacks," Lavrov said.

This comes after Ukrainian forces struck 11 Russian vessels overnight in the Sea of Azov.

According to a statement by the Ukrainian military commander Robert Brovdi on Telegram, Ukrainian forces struck the Russian vessels as part of "Operation MoLoChKa."

According to Brovdi, the targets included five tankers, five dry cargo vessels and one tugboat.

He claimed that the latest operation brought the total number of Russian vessels targeted over the past nine days to 116.

Following the attacks, Russia's Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Telegram that the situation in the Sea of Azov would not affect domestic food supplies or the country's agricultural exports, adding that alternative cargo routes were being developed in coordination with relevant agencies and businesses. (ANI)

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