Russian-flagged cargo ship Zhibek Zholy is seen off the coast of Black Sea port of Karasu, Turkey, July 3, 2022. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan

According to Ukraine, Turkey has detained a Russian-flagged ship carrying Ukrainian grain at its instigation. The Turkish authorities are fully cooperating with the Ukrainian side, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said on Twitter on Sunday.

Reuters reporters saw the freighter Zhibek Zholy drop anchor about a kilometer off the Turkish port of Karasu. Bodnar wrote that the authorities would decide on their course of action on Monday. Statements from Turkey and Russia were initially not available.

Ukraine suspects the illegal export of grain that the Russian occupiers stole during the war of aggression and had therefore asked the Turkish authorities to investigate the freighter. According to a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv, the ship had left the Russian-held Ukrainian port of Berdyansk with 4,500 tons of grain on board. In a letter from the Attorney General dated June 30 to the Ministry of Justice in Kyiv, there is even talk of 7,000 tons of grain.