Ukraine and Romania to strengthen cooperation to protect Black Sea shipping

Ukraine and Romania have agreed to strengthen cooperation to protect civilian shipping and counter growing threats in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced this following his first phone call with newly appointed Romanian Foreign Minister Dan Neculaescu.

According to Sybiha, Ukraine and Romania share an interest in ensuring the security and stability of the Black Sea region. The two sides discussed further cooperation and a joint response to threats to shipping.

The minister also referred to the latest drone attack on a civilian cargo vessel off the Romanian coast. The vessel was the Comoros-flagged dry bulk carrier KHORYV, which sank after being struck approximately 13 nautical miles from Constanța. This was not the first attack on commercial shipping off the Romanian coast in October. Drones previously attacked the tankers YARA J and WINE TRADER. YARA J was struck in Romanian territorial waters, with its crew unharmed, and was subsequently towed to Constanța. Following the attack on WINE TRADER, some crew members went missing.

At least seven commercial vessels have been attacked off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the past two weeks. Against this backdrop, Romania has decided to accelerate the development of Black Sea surveillance systems and countermeasures against drones and naval mines.

Tags: Black Sea grain corridor, Ukraine, Romania, Black Sea region, war