Russia’s Defense Ministry has said it has created the conditions for two maritime humanitarian corridors to allow the safe movement of ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, according to a statement published in the Telegram on Monday.
The statement comes amid international condemnation of Russia’s blockade of key ports for months.
“The Russian Federation is taking a full range of measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the Black Sea and Azov waters,” the ministry said in a statement. “There is a danger to navigation and damage to port infrastructure due to the drift of Ukrainian anchor mines along the coast of the Black Sea states.”
A little context: world leaders have condemned for months a blockade by Russian forces on key Ukrainian ports, such as Mariupol in the Sea of Azov and Odessa in the Black Sea, which has left more than 20 million tons of grain trapped within the country. The Ukrainian Navy said on Monday that about 30 Russian ships and submarines continued to block civilian navigation in the Black Sea.
According to the Russian statement, the Azov Sea Maritime Humanitarian Corridor will be open all day to allow ships to leave the port of Mariupol.
Meanwhile, in the Black Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that a maritime humanitarian corridor will operate during working hours “to leave the ports of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Otxakiv, Odessa and Yuzhne in a southwesterly direction from the territorial sea of Ukraine. “
The ministry also accused the Ukrainian authorities of not taking steps to resolve the problem of the blocked ships.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Ukraine must clear coastal waters for grain vessels to pass through and assured that Russia will facilitate its passage and will not use demining sea corridors to attack Ukraine.
Ukraine has also accused the Russians of laying mines in the Black Sea.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed to this post.