For the safety of civil navigation, the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine closed navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
At the same time, the Russian Black Sea fleet continues to use the same tactic as Russian ground forces, trying to use civilians as “human shields.”
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that as of March 2, Russian ships demanded from the civilian HELT ship to enter the dangerous zone of the Black Sea so that they could use it as the “human shield.” Otherwise, Russian ships threaten to open fire at the HELT ship.
“This is nothing other than XXI century piracy,” the General Staff stressed.
They also reminded that on February 24 Russian fleet had already shot two civilian ships; two more ships were captured (including a rescue ship “Sapphire” that was on a humanitarian mission).