Russia: Ukraine attacks civilian vessels to destabilize international energy and food markets

 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Tuesday that Ukraine is attacking civilian vessels in the Black and Azov Seas with the aim of destabilizing international energy and food markets.

"The incident you mention is just one episode in a series of terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilian merchant vessels—attacks with which they apparently seek to compensate for the failures of Ukrainian troops on the front line," she said at a press briefing when asked about the October 6 attack in the Black Sea on the Aframax tanker Rio, which was en route to India.

 According to the spokeswoman, since January, Ukrainian forces have launched more than 250 indiscriminate attacks against vessels transporting oil, grain, and other non-military cargo. Most of these attacks took place during the summer months.