Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to disrupt peace process through attacks on tankers in Black Sea
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Ukraine's attacks on tankers and ships in the Black Sea are intended to disrupt the peace process.
cumhuriyet.com.trZakharova told a news conference in St. Petersburg that Ukraine ignored Türkiye's and Kazakhstan's reactions and continued its attempts to drown Russian vessels.
"Apparently, Kyiv ignored the unequivocal reaction from Ankara and Astana, sanctioning on December 1 a new attack using unmanned boats on a Russian commercial vessel, which was located 80 nautical miles from the Black Sea coast of Türkiye," she said.
Though the crew and the ship were not significantly harmed, Moscow considers these "terrorist attacks," she added.
On Dec. 2, the Russian vessel Midvolga 2 was attacked by a drone 80 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, sustaining minor damage. Earlier, on Nov. 28, the tankers Kairos and Virat were attacked 28 and 38 nautical miles from the Turkish coast, respectively, resulting in a fire and hull damage.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Dec. 1 that such attacks signal an alarming escalation and cannot be justified.