Russian special services detained seven merchant ships in the Sea of Azov on Monday, and four more a few days earlier, which headed to Mariupol and Berdiansk or left from there, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oksana Syroid has said.

"I hope that you know that today the FSB of Russia in the Sea of Azov detained seven merchant ships that were coming from or to Mariupol or Berdiansk. Some days earlier there were four such ships. This threat was predicted, but no one worked with it. It means only the growth of Russian aggression. This is the continuation of the war," Syroid said at a meeting of the parliament's conciliatory council in Kyiv on Monday.

"This shows that, in fact, the president of Ukraine, as well as the government, did nothing for four years to prevent or reduce this threat, which exists today," she added.