Russian Defence Ministry announces that a vessel en route to the Ukrainian port of Izmail has been halted in the Black Sea

The Russian Ministry of Defence has announced that a vessel has been stopped in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, heading for the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

The Russian ministry announced this on its social media channels.

The incident took place on August 13.

The Russian ship Vasily Bykov allegedly demanded that the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan stop "for inspection for the carriage of prohibited goods." The captain of the vessel did not respond.

In order to stop the vessel, the Russians allegedly opened a "warning" fire from small arms and sent Russian military personnel by helicopter to the ship to "inspect" the cargo ship.

After the "inspection," the vessel continued to move to the Izmail port.