Ukraine war: Ships defy Russian warning as Crimean bridge targeted by Kyiv drones

Cargo ships leave Ukraine - despite threats from Russia

Maritime officials say a pair of cargo vessels departed Ukraine on Saturday despite Russian warnings - and are now in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov says the Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier carrying 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday and is now close to Bulgarian territorial waters.

A second vessel, the Ocean Courtesy, which is travelling under a Marshall Islands flag, is said to have left the same port on Friday with 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate.

That ship arrived at the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta shortly before noon on Saturday, according to the global ship tracking website MarineTraffic.

It’s not yet clear whether the vessel is set to move on from the Romanian port.

On X - formerly known as Twitter - Kubrakov wrote that the two vessels sailed through a temporary corridor for civilian ships from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to the Bosporus.

The corridor goes along the western shores of that ocean, avoiding international waters and instead using those controlled by NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.

Authorities at the Bulgarian port of Varna have not confirmed whether the Anna-Theresa will enter the port or will continue onto the Bosporus Strait.

The ships are only the third and fourth vessels which have used the interim corridor established by Ukraine’s government after Russia halted a wartime agreement aimed at ensuring safe grain exports from Ukraine.

The boats had previously been docked in Ukrainian Black Sea ports since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Their departure has coincided with the official announcement of an upcoming meeting between Russian