Embassy’s comment on the UK’s Ministry of Defence statement co | Russian Embassy in London

Embassy’s comment on the UK’s Ministry of Defence statement concerning the clearing of Ukrainian ports of “Russian mines”

We took note of the UK’s Ministry of Defence press-release announcing the forthcoming delivery of six autonomous minehunting vehicles to Ukraine “to help detect Russian mines in the waters off its coast”. The relevant statement also states that “efforts to get food out of the country continue to be hampered by sea mines left by Russian forces along Ukraine’s coast”. This narrative, in our view, intentionally distorts reality.

In fact the export of grains from the Ukrainian-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny has been continuously disrupted by naval mines positioned in their direct vicinity by the Ukrainian Navy ostensibly to defend them from seaborne landing. Back in March the relevant Russian agencies reported that Ukraine had placed around 420 mines in areas adjacent to the ports. Most of these devices were manufactured in the first half of the XX century and were therefore in technically deficient state. There are records of these mines drifting around the Black sea, thereby posing a threat to navigation in the region.

This is further corroborated by Western media publications have cited UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as saying that “Ukrainians had agreed to remove only a few of the mines.” (The New York Times, 22.07.2022).

In their attempts to falsely blame Russia with “weaponising food supplies“, UK officials seem to be once again deliberately deluding the audience. We call on the British Ministry of Defence to verify all incoming information and steer clear of unsubstantiated allegations.