Attack by Russia on foreign ship carrying Ukrainian grain would mean attack on carrier country - Danilov

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said this on the air of Ukrainian Radio, Ukrinform reports.

Two days ago, for the first time since July 16, a civilian vessel that went through the temporary corridor left the port of Odesa. The Joseph Schulte container ship under the Hong Kong flag headed for the Bosphorus through the corridor established for civilian ships. Commenting on this situation, Oleksiy Danilov, the NSDC Secretary, told Ukrainian Radio that this is not the last ship flying the flag of another country that will depart from Ukrainian ports, and if Russia decides to attack them, it will be tantamount to an attack on the carrier countries.

"Our country adheres to all the maritime rules that are in force across the world. We are not going to negotiate the issue with the Russian Federation because we are doing everything necessary. In particular, the first ship has already passed, and in the near future there will be more. We will do this completely publicly, so that the entire world knew that it was civilian ships carrying food and other things that had nothing to do with military issues," Danilov said.

He emphasized that if the Russian Federation decides to attack ships flying the flags of other countries, it will be seen as a direct attack on these countries, not on Ukraine.

As reported, the other day, a civilian ship left the port of Odesa for the first time since July 16, sailing through the temporary corridor. The Joseph Schulte container ship under the flag of Hong Kong headed for the Bosphorus through the corridor established for civilian ships.

On August 18, the ship safely arrived in Istanbul.