Russian vessels allegedly involved in the shipping of stolen Ukrainian grain have collided in the Black Sea region during a huge storm, it has been reported.
The Telegram channel Shot said that on Sunday night a “massive maritime accident” had taken place in the Kerch Strait after the ship Matros Shevchenko had tried to sail into the open sea but collided with the vessel Matros Pozynich.
On May 27, satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies showed that Matros Pozynich had arrived in Syria with grain allegedly stolen from Ukrainian farms.
In October, the pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that the Matros Shevchenko had left the port city of Sevastopol with stolen Ukrainian grain amid accusations that Russia uses Crimea as a “gray zone” for transporting agricultural products that it has illegally seized.
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In Sunday’s incident the two vessels collided with another anchored vessel Kavkaz-5, although the circumstances of the crash are unclear. Shot said that the vessels had sustained minor damage but “fuel spills and water pollution were avoided.”
The Kremlin-linked Telegram channel Mash reported that at least eight vessels were damaged in the storms that hit the region.
This is a developing story and will be updated with further information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.