Pletenchuk explained what a ceasefire at sea means for Ukraine

Ukraine regards the ceasefire in the maritime space as the cessation of shelling of ports. The rest will depend on the content of the future joint statement.

In the event of reaching agreements on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, Ukraine considers the cessation of attacks on port infrastructure to be a key criterion. This was stated on the air of “Svoboda.Ranok” by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk.

“For us, a ceasefire at sea is the cessation of shelling of Ukraine’s port infrastructure. This is how we see it. Of course, it is not difficult to guess what Russia is putting into this, but in any case, we need to read the final document,” the spokesman noted.

According to Pletenchuk, the security situation in the Black Sea remains difficult, but it is the maritime component that has not been dominant in the Russian Federation’s attacks recently. In particular, strikes with Kalibr missiles from ships at sea have been carried out only three times since the beginning of 2024, and they can hardly be called effective. The main danger now is strikes from the territory of the occupied Crimea – in particular, using the Iskander-M missile system and Shahed suicide drones, which are launched from Cape Chauda.

Pletenchuk emphasized that the legal interpretation of these types of attacks as a “sea component” remains open.

“Yes, they come from the sea, we meet them from the sea. But is this a sea component or not? Missiles launched from aircraft from the Black Sea – is this part of the ceasefire at sea?”, – said Pletenchuk.

These statements were made against the backdrop of closed negotiations between the US and Russian delegations, which took place in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). According to Russian media, the negotiations lasted more than 12 hours, and a joint statement is expected on March 25.

Among the topics of discussion was the possibility of a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Earlier, Russian officials said that the issue of reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative was also on the agenda. The Kremlin is hinting at a broader discussion of the so-called “nuances” of ending the war.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is also in Riyadh, met with the American delegation on March 24, marking the second round of direct contacts between Kyiv and Washington. The talks between the US and Russia took place in the break between these meetings.

As USM reported, this month Russia launched its most massive missile strike from the Black Sea since the beginning of the year.