A screenshot from the footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on June 5, 2023 shows a combat ship drilling during a naval exercise on the Baltic Sea. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

MOSCOW - A Russian naval ship on Sunday stopped a Palau-flagged dry cargo ship en route to the Ukrainian port of Izmail. This action came after firing warning shots in the Black Sea, said Russia's defense ministry.

The Russian combat ship Vasily Bykov fired warning shots from automatic small arms to forcibly stop the dry cargo ship Sukru Okan in the southwestern part of the Black Sea after the cargo ship ignored demands to stop for an inspection of the potential carriage of prohibited goods, said the ministry in a statement.

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Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian attack, utilizing combined firepower to target enemy troops and military equipment in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, spokesperson of the Russian defense ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said on Sunday.

Russian navy ships sail during a military parade to celebrate Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 26, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

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Units of the Russian battlegroup, backed by artillery, thwarted a Ukrainian army attack to the southwest of the settlement of Uspenovka in the Zaporozhye region, the spokesperson was quoted by Tass News Agency as saying.