London warns of possible Russian attacks on Black Sea cargo ships

(Patria) - The UK government has warned that Russia could target civilian ships in the Black Sea by laying naval mines on approaches to Ukrainian ports, and then blame Ukraine.

London said last month that Russian forces had targeted a civilian cargo ship in the region with "multiple missiles", but they were successfully intercepted by air defense, AFP reports.

Citing declassified intelligence, it is stated that there is a risk of attacks on cargo ships traveling through the Ukrainian "humanitarian corridor" in order to deter Ukrainian grain exports.

"Russia's pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea shows Putin's complete disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the world's most vulnerable," said Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

"The world is watching and we see right through Russia's cynical attempts to blame Ukraine for its attacks," he added.

Cleverly's ministry released its assessment of intelligence reports that "the UK seeks to expose Russian tactics in order to prevent any such incident."

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July. Since then, Russian attacks have damaged 130 port infrastructure facilities and destroyed nearly 300,000 tons of grain, enough to feed more than a million people for a year, London said.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed London's support for Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging hesitant Western allies to maintain arms supplies.

"If we give President Zelensky the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job," he said at the annual conference of his ruling Conservative Party in Manchester.