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Attracted Russian port in Syria ages ago
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Ukraine says the Sparta II, sailing through the Bosporus in May, has carried military equipment and should be considered a warship. YORUK ISIK/REUTERS
Ukraine Says Russia Is Using Cargo Ships to Ferry Weapons to the Black Sea
Kyiv asks Turkey to block passage of sanctioned vessels making journeys from Syria through straits controlled by Ankara
ISTANBUL—A Russian shipping line with ties to the country’s Defense Ministry has been ferrying weapons and supplies through the Bosporus to ports on the Black Sea in support of Moscow’s war effort, according to Ukrainian officials who have urged Turkey to block their access.
Kyiv has asked Turkish authorities to take action against at least four cargo ships that it says are transporting military equipment from a Russian base in Syria through straits controlled by Turkey, the only way into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean.
Ukraine made a formal protest to the Turkish ambassador on Monday after it said a Russian freighter, the Sparta II, transported an S-300 air-defense missile system through the straits and delivered it to the Russian port of Novorossiysk near Ukraine on Aug. 27.
The Sparta II is operated by Oboronlogistics LLC, a Moscow-based company that describes its main objective as meeting the transportation needs of Russia’s Defense Ministry for “military and special purpose goods.” Since the start of the war, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on the company.
Oboronlogistics said it was carrying a cargo of olive oil.
Turkey’s position as gatekeeper to the strategic straits, subject to an international treaty known as the Montreux Convention, has led to mounting diplomatic pressure on Ankara from Russia and Ukraine. Turkey has tried to maintain its political and commercial relations with both sides.
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