These images purport to show Russian naval forces boarding the ‘Sukra Okan’ vessel which was sailing under the flag of Palau to the Ukrainian port of Izmail.
The images appear to show Russian forces landing by helicopter on the vessel and carrying out an inspection.
They can be seen shouting at the crew in English to stop the engines and proceeding to question them.
A Russian officer can then be seen demanding to know why the vessel failed to stop when asked to by the Russian vessel.
The footage ends with the Russian forces apparently letting the crew and vessel continue on their way.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday, 15th August, along with a statement claiming: “Footage of the work carried out by the Russian inspection team from the patrol ship ‘Vasily Bykov’ of the Black Sea Fleet, aboard the dry cargo ship ‘Sukra Okan’, sailing under the flag of Palau to the Ukrainian port of Izmail on August 13th.
“The video captures the overflight by a Russian Ka-29 helicopter of the dry cargo ship ‘Sukra Okan’, which did not comply with the demand to stop.
“It shows moments of Russian military personnel disembarking onto the ship, documentation checks, and inspection activities carried out within the ship’s premises, aiming to verify the presence of prohibited cargo.
“Throughout the conducted inspection activities, the work of the inspection team was carried out professionally, in accordance with the requirements of international documents.
“After the completion of the inspection team’s work on board the ‘Sukra Okan’, a verification protocol was drawn up, and the vessel continued its journey to the port of Izmail.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 538th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 15th August 2023, Russia had lost about 254,920 personnel, 4,313 tanks, 8,370 armoured combat vehicles, 5,128 artillery units, 714 multiple launch rocket systems, 482 air defence systems, 315 warplanes, 314 helicopters, 4,242 drones, 1,387 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 7,584 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 769 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Russia reportedly launched three waves of drone and missile attacks against the key southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with the Ukrainian Air Force saying that it had intercepted all of them.
The governor of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, said that falling debris from the intercepted drones and missiles damaged a residential building, a dormitory and a supermarket.
He added that two supermarket employees were injured and hospitalised, with the building burning down overnight.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops involved in attacks on Soledar, a Russian-held town north of Bakhmut, on the eastern Ukrainian frontline in Donetsk on Monday.
The United States announced on Monday that it will send Ukraine further security assistance to the tune of USD 200 million, including air defence ammunition, artillery ammunition, and mine-clearing equipment.
Lynne Tracy, the US Ambassador to Russia, has met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, according to American officials.
A US State Department spokesperson said: “Ambassador Tracy said that Evan continues to appear in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances.”
Russia has claimed that Gershkovich was caught attempting to obtain military secrets while in the city of Yekaterinburg, but has not provided any details to support the allegations, which have been denied by the Wall Street Journal.
The Russian rouble has fallen to its weakest point in 16 months, momentarily slipping below the RUB 100 to USD 1 mark on Monday, as Russia faces a collapse in export revenues and increasing military expenditure.
Germany’s Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday for his first visit since the beginning of the Russian invasion and said that his country stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine.
He added that he would be holding “very concrete” discussions with Ukrainian officials about how his country’s Finance Ministry can help Ukraine.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence said it scrambled to F-16s early on Monday after two Russian bombers were detected flying towards Dutch airspace.
The United Kingdom said that its Typhoon fighter jets had intercepted two Russian patrol bombers in international airspace north of Scotland on Monday.
Twenty-two Russian diplomats have left the Moldovan capital Chisinau after Moldovan officials ordered most of Russia’s staff to leave last month as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “This unfriendly step of official Chisinau will undoubtedly have consequences for Russian-Moldovan relations.”
