Rescue boats attacked by Russians during humanitarian mission

Two civilian Ukrainian search and rescue vessels were attacked by Russians while carrying out a humanitarian mission within the Ukrainian maritime corridor.

According to Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, the crew members were evacuated by Ukrainian Navy boats.

The Minister emphasized that small coastal search and rescue vessels have special protection under international humanitarian law. In particular, Article 27 of the Second Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly provides for the protection of vessels used by the state or officially recognized rescue organizations exclusively for search and rescue operations and assistance to persons at sea.

"This attack is yet another proof of Russia's deliberate disregard for international law and the creation of a direct threat to the safe functioning of humanitarian sea corridors in the Black Sea," said Oleksiy Kuleba.

As explained by the Navy, both vessels had SAR (Search and Rescue) markings on their boards, which means they were assigned to search and rescue people on the water, so it was impossible to confuse them with military vessels.

This is not the first time that Russians have attacked civilian vessels in the Black Sea and in ports. For example, on the night of May 29, Odesa region was targeted by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. Three foreign vessels came under Russian attack, and all of them started fires, which were extinguished by the crews.

On the morning of May 18, a civilian vessel flying the Panamanian flag was hit while sailing through the Ukrainian corridor to the port of Chornomorsk in Odesa region. Also, as a result of the Russian attack, which lasted through the night of May 18, two vessels sailing to ports in Odesa region on the Black Sea were damaged. The vessels in question were flying the flags of Guinea-Bissau and the Marshall Islands, which were in the waiting area and moving through the Ukrainian corridor to the ports of Greater Odesa. The hits caused small fires on both vessels, which were localized by the ship's crew. There were no injuries among the crews.

Кирило Бойко