All news

Naval corridor for exit of foreign ships from Ukrainian ports expanded — Defense Ministry

In order to ensure safe exit of foreign ships from ports of Odessa, Nikolayev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov and Yuzhny to open sea, Russian Armed Forces introduced changes to the humanitarian corridor routeм

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The humanitarian provided for foreign ships to leave Ukrainian Black Sea ports has been corrected and now covers 139 nautical miles, with width of 3 nautical miles, Russian National Defense Control Center head Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev said Thursday.

"In order to ensure safe exit of foreign ships from ports of Odessa, Nikolayev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov and Yuzhny to open sea, Russian Armed Forces introduced changes to the humanitarian corridor route. Starting on May 27, 2022, the naval humanitarian corridor is a route for ship navigation 139 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide," he said.

The corridor will be active daily between 08:00 and 19:00 Moscow time.

Mizintsev underscored that the Ukrainian side is responsible for ensuring safe exit of ships from ports and their navigation to the assembly point.

Earlier, the media reported that Russian Armed Forces opened two naval humanitarian corridors: safe strips for navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. In the Black Sea, the corridor was 80 miles long and 3 miles wide, providing passage from ports of Kherson, Nikolayev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzny southwest from Ukrainian territorial waters.

Previously, Mizintsev said that, despite conditions for safe exit, provided by Russia, six foreign freighters remain in the port of Mariupol, for example: ships of Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Liberia, Panama, Turkey and Jamaica. He underscored that Russia calls on the International Maritime Organization to influence the ship owners in order to evacuate them to their home ports.