Russia Black Sea blockade: Cargo ship from Ukraine’s Odesa port reaches Istanbul
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Transcript
00:00 There are three possible reasons. First and foremost, the Russians knew that this ship
00:05 was not carrying weapons. It had been in Odessa port since before the invasion began,
00:12 and Ukraine imports weapons, it doesn't export them. So the Russians knew it was a safe vessel.
00:21 Second possible reason is that this ship is flagged in Hong Kong and it is half-owned by
00:28 a Chinese bank, and China is one of Russia's biggest allies in its fight against Ukraine.
00:36 A third possible reason is that this ship's captain cleverly steered the ship through Romanian,
00:45 Bulgarian and Turkish waters. It didn't cross into international waters, and maybe the Russian Navy
00:53 didn't want to intercept it in Romanian and Bulgarian national waters. However,
01:01 before the ship got to Romanian waters, it would have been in Ukrainian waters,
01:07 and the Russian Navy could have intercepted it there, but they chose not to.
01:11 So Jasper, what does this bode for the future? Do you think we will see other ships traveling
01:17 in and out of the Black Sea without interference from Moscow?
01:22 This was a test of Ukraine's plans to set up an alternative naval corridor across the Black Sea,
01:30 but it was an easy test. The ship wasn't carrying weapons, it wasn't carrying grain,
01:36 which Ukraine sells in order to get money to buy weapons. So it was at no cost to the Russians to
01:48 let the ship proceed. The real test will come when a ship carrying Ukrainian grain tries to leave
01:58 Ukrainian ports. Everybody will be watching to see whether the Russian Navy intercepts it.