Disputed grain ship returns to Russian waters: Turkish source

A disputed Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying grain Kyiv alleges was stolen from Ukraine has returned to Russian territorial waters, a Turkish source told AFP.

The Zhibek Zholy appeared to still be loaded, said the official, refuting a Russian media report suggesting that the ship’s crew intended to offload the grain to another vessel before returning.

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the Russian ship had been allowed to leave the Turkish port of Karasu, calling it an “unacceptable situation” and summoning Turkey’s ambassador.

“We regret that Russia’s ship Zhibek Zholy, which was full of stolen Ukrainian grain, was allowed to leave Karasu port despite criminal evidence presented to the Turkish authorities,” foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Twitter.