Lavrov called the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on civilian vessels in the Sea of Azov terrorism.

Kiev's attacks on civilian vessels in the Sea of Azov are "pure terrorism," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on July 14.

During a press conference following talks with the Chadian Foreign Minister, Lavrov stressed that the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) could not even be called piracy.

"This is not even piracy, which is what the Kiev regime is doing. At least the pirates rob and take it for themselves. But here, neither to yourself nor to people, just to cause damage, to intimidate — pure terrorism. Which manifests itself not only in the Sea of Azov, and in the Black Sea, by the way, and on the African continent," said the Russian Foreign Minister.

Lavrov added that Russia, despite the provocations, will continue to fulfill its obligations to supply food to its African partners.

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Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said earlier that day that 12 sailors were injured and two of them died last week from Ukrainian air strikes on tankers and civilian vessels in the Sea of Azov. He noted that the targets of the terrorist operation against a dozen vessels were the blocking of marine supplies of petroleum products and the fuel blockade of the southern regions.

On July 14, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation indicated that it was taking measures to ensure cargo logistics in connection with the increased attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the civilian fleet in the waters of the Sea of Azov. It was noted that the port captains are engaged in optimizing shipping traffic and speeding up ship handling.