MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2022) Kiev has only an outline of a plan to clear the Black Sea of mines, Roman Kostenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament told UK media on Monday.
The Ukrainian politician admitted to The Guardian that the demining plan exists, but said it is no more than an outline for now.
Another Ukrainian official, who requested anonymity, told the newspaper that the Ukrainian authorities are planning to carry out demining using robots, adding however that it would be months before it can be done.
In March, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that Ukraine had planted about 420 mines in the vicinity of its Black Sea ports and that some had been swept into the sea. The FSB warned that some might drift into the Bosporus Strait and onward into the Mediterranean.
The West has blamed the global food crisis on Russia, accusing Moscow of allegedly blocking Ukrainian grain shipments. Moscow, in turn, says that cargo ships are unable to leave Black Sea ports due to mines planted by Ukraine's military, calling on Kiev to clear the waters. The UN has repeatedly warned that the broken supply chain threatens food insecurity on a global scale.
