MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Nationalists are blocking 75 vessels from 17 countries at seven Ukrainian ports, Head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev said on Wednesday.
"Seventy-five vessels from 17 countries remain blocked at seven Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, Yuzhny and Mariupol). The threat of shelling attacks created by Kiev in Ukraine’s territorial waters, as well as a high mine threat, are preventing ships from safely leaving the ports," said Mizintsev, who heads Russia’s interagency coordination center for humanitarian response in Ukraine.
In addition, according to the general, Ukrainian nationalists are still holding 90 people from five countries hostage, using them as human shields.
According to Mizintsev, stray Ukrainian mines floating along the Black Sea coast continue to pose a threat to ships. However, the Kiev authorities seek to avoid cooperation with other countries and ship owning companies in providing a safe passage to foreign vessels.
Mizintsev emphasized that Russia was taking all the necessary measures to create conditions for civilian shipping in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea.
The head of Russia’s National Defense Management reiterated that the Russian military opened a humanitarian corridor in the southwest direction every day between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm Moscow time, 80 nautical miles long and three nautical miles wide. Details about the corridor are announced in Russian and English on two VHF radio channels every 15 minutes every day.