Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described the most recent assault on Russian vessels from the "shadow fleet" within the Black Sea as an alarming escalation to the scenario. Moscow has used the fleet to bypass Western restrictions on its vitality sector imposed because the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Supply: European Pravda, citing Turkish information company Anadolu

Particulars: After a Turkish authorities assembly, Erdoğan stated that the warfare between Russia and Ukraine has reached a stage that brazenly jeopardises transport safety within the Black Sea.

Quote from Erdoğan: "Assaults on service provider ships in our unique financial zone point out an alarming escalation of the scenario. We can’t in any means justify these assaults, which jeopardise the protection of transport, human lives and the atmosphere, particularly in our unique zone."

Background:

• Two sanctioned tankers had been reported to have caught hearth on Friday within the Black Sea off the coast of Türkiye on account of exterior strikes. Sources informed Ukrainska Pravda that it was a particular operation by the Safety Service of Ukraine.
• The sources say Sea Child maritime drones operated by the Safety Service struck two sanctioned oil tankers, KAIRO and VIRAT, within the Black Sea. Turkish officers initially recommended that the ships might need been hit by missiles or drones.
• In accordance with OpenSanctions, the US positioned the VIRAT tanker beneath sanctions in January, after which the EU, Switzerland, the UK and Canada adopted related measures. The EU sanctioned the KAIROS tanker in July, adopted in flip by the UK and Switzerland.

Assist Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!