ISTANBUL/MOSCOW: Türkiye on Tuesday condemned drone attacks on two civilian cargo vessels in the Black Sea that left several crew members injured, warning that escalating hostilities between Russia and Ukraine are increasingly threatening maritime security and global food supplies.
The Turkish foreign ministry said the vessels were attacked shortly after departing Russia’s Novorossiysk port late on Monday.
“We are deeply concerned about the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, which is affecting civilian shipping despite our numerous warnings,” the ministry said.
It urged all sides to “urgently implement concrete measures to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea” and warned that continued attacks could disrupt food supply chains.
According to maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic, the vessels, identified as Yasar and Nadezhda, sail under the Panamanian and Cameroonian flags, respectively, but are owned by Turkish companies.
The attacks come amid a rise in strikes targeting cargo vessels in the Black Sea. In late June, a Turkish fishing vessel was attacked near the Crimean coast, killing one crew member and injuring four others. In May, Ankara also warned of an “uncontrolled escalation” after a Turkish cargo ship was struck in a drone attack that the Ukrainian navy blamed on Russia.
Four Killed in Crimea Shooting
Separately, four people, including three civilians, were killed after a soldier opened fire in Sevastopol, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea said.
“A tragedy in Sevastopol… According to initial information, a soldier opened fire on his fellow servicemen, killing one person, before attacking civilians and killing three of them,” Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.
He said the suspect was arrested, while the motive behind the attack and the soldier’s nationality were not immediately known. The civilian victims were identified as two men, aged 71 and 59, and a 64-year-old woman.
Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, has faced frequent Ukrainian strikes in recent weeks aimed at disrupting Russian military logistics in southern Ukraine.
Drone Strike Near Moscow Kills Five
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone strike targeted an industrial zone outside Moscow, killing five people and injuring 10 others, according to regional governor Andrey Vorobyov.
Vorobyov said multiple fires broke out in the Novoselki industrial zone following the overnight attack.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting civilian infrastructure and warehouses linked to Russian e-commerce company Wildberries, as both sides continue exchanging large-scale drone and missile attacks.
