A video has appeared on social media that further aggravates the issue of navigation safety in the Black Sea and relations between Moscow and Ankara.
The video, which is said to have been shot in the port of Odessa, shows the moment of a Russian attack with a Geran-type drone, as the aircraft slowly approaches the port, while the entire scene is filmed by crew members of ships anchored nearby.
The footage clearly shows the drone flying towards the port area, while in the background the reactions of the crews following its approach can be heard. It is precisely this visual evidence of the attack at a time when Turkish-owned ships were also in the port that has given the whole case additional political weight, especially in the context of Turkey's role and the personal conversations of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The release of the video comes after news that Russia, in coordinated drone and ballistic missile strikes, hit two Ukrainian ports in the Odessa region, damaging three Turkish-owned ships, including a vessel carrying food supplies. The attacks came just days after Moscow threatened to “virtually cut Ukraine off from the sea” in response to Ukrainian naval drone attacks on Russian tankers from the so-called shadow fleet, which Kiev considers a key source of funding for Russia’s war.
The fact that the attack occurred just hours after the conversation between Erdogan and Putin, in which the Turkish president expressed the position that a limited ceasefire, which would include energy infrastructure and ports, could be a useful step towards reducing tensions, gives the whole event a special weight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released photos from the port of Chornomorsky, showing a large fire on one of the hit ships, as fire crews tried to bring the blaze under control. He said the attacks confirmed that Moscow was not willing to use the moment for diplomacy, but was continuing the war with the aim of disrupting normal life in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian navy spokesman confirmed that three ships, all Turkish-owned, were damaged in the attacks, without providing further technical details. Turkey's Foreign Ministry also confirmed that material damage had been caused to the port of Chornomorsky, stressing that there was no information about Turkish citizens being injured.
Ankara once again called for an agreement that would prevent further escalation in the Black Sea, especially regarding navigation safety and the protection of energy and port infrastructure. For Ukraine, the three major Black Sea ports in the Odessa region constitute a key economic artery, as the country ranks among the world's largest exporters of grain and other goods. /Telegraph/
