Ukraine has proposed a deal with Russia under which both sides would halt attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea, according to reports.
Reuters reported that Ukraine made the offer via a third party and that Moscow has yet to respond.
The Black Sea is a key export route for both Russia and Ukraine, used to transport grain and other vital foodstuffs worldwide. Since July, Ukraine has effectively closed the Black Sea route for commercial Russian shipping.
Ukraine's drones have hit nearly 220 vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, including oil tankers, grain cargo ships and passenger ferries.
The attacks forced Russia to suspend shipping through a canal connecting the Caspian Sea with the Sea of Azov via a Russian river network. The route goes through the Kerch strait between occupied Crimea and Russia, and leads on to the Bosphorus strait in Turkey.
Russia has escalated attacks on Ukraine's southern ports, severely damaging the country's agricultural sector. About 90% of grain and sunflower shipments leave from Odesa and the neighbouring harbours of Chornomorsk and Pivdenne.
In July, Russian drones killed 10 sailors shortly after the Turkish-owned grain carrier Golden Leo left Odesa. Many of the victims were from Syria and India. Another 16 port workers and sailors have died in other recent strikes on Ukrainian ports.
The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, that in a 31 July phone call US Vice President JD Vance complained that Ukrainian strikes on tankers carrying oil from Kazakhstan were hurting US companies and destabilising oil prices, and told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop them. Zelenskyy's office has not commented on the report.
Ukraine is in the middle of delicate negotiations with the Trump administration. Kyiv is seeking US-manufactured Patriot interceptors to defend Ukrainian cities from Russian ballistic missile and drone swarms.
Since the phone call, Ukraine's unmanned systems forces have not attacked ships carrying oil from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal. They have continued to attack other targets in Novorossiysk, which is home to Russia's Black Sea naval fleet.
Zelenskyy hailed a massive attack on Novorossiysk, featuring rockets, jets and sea drones.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had taken out Russian warships in Novorossiysk Bay, including two frigates, a large landing ship, a corvette and other vessels that had been hiding there. The attack's other targets included two major grain export terminals, according to reports. Russian officials claimed three people, including a child, were killed in the attack.
It is Russia that can and must bring this war to an end.
The two sides previously signed an agreement, brokered by Turkey and the UN, to stop maritime attacks. The Black Sea grain initiative lasted from July 2022 to July 2023. The Kremlin refused to renew it, complaining that western sanctions were damaging Russia's agricultural sector.
Ukraine subsequently reopened the route unilaterally, using sea drones to sink Russian ships in the north-west part of the Black Sea. Most vessels in Russia's Black Sea fleet were forced to relocate from the occupied Crimean port of Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. Shipping from Ukrainian ports is at a standstill as Ukraine's harvest season begins.
