Türkiye shot down an “out of control” aerial drone that approached its airspace from the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry said on Dec. 15, following a series of security incidents linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
F-16 fighter planes were scrambled after an object was detected, the ministry said in a statement. “To avoid any potential harm, it was shot down in a safe area outside of a populated area,” it added. The statement gave no further details of the location or time of the incident.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Dec. 13 against the Black Sea becoming an "area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, following several strikes in recent weeks on ships in the region.
A Turkish vessel was damaged on Dec. 12 in a Russian air strike near the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, just hours after Erdoğan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Turkish leader earlier complained of a "worrying escalation" in the Black Sea, after attacks claimed by Ukraine on tankers linked to Russia off the Turkish coast.
The two empty tankers — the Virat and the Kairos — reported explosions on Nov. 28 but no casualties. Both vessels were flying a Gambian flag and are subject to Western sanctions for transporting Russian oil in defiance of embargoes imposed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Kairos was struck around 15:00 GMT as it headed for Novorossiysk, prompting rescuers to evacuate its 25 crew after a fire broke out. The ship was roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of where the Bosphorus Strait meets the Black Sea.
The Virat was hit later, about 400 kilometers further east, according to VesselFinder tracking data, and reported a second blast early on Nov. 29. None of its 20 crew members were injured.
Ukraine has frequently used marine drones to hit Russian ships during the war, though its operations have largely remained within the northern Black Sea.
Turkish authorities on Dec. 2 reported another incident in the Black Sea. The Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the MIDVOLGA-2 tanker, sailing from Russia to Georgia carrying sunflower oil, “reported that it was attacked 80 nautical miles off our coast” earlier that morning.
“The ship, which currently has no adverse conditions among its 13 personnel, has no request for assistance,” the agency wrote on X. The vessel was heading toward the port of Sinop along Türkiye's central Black Sea coast.
Maintaining close ties with both Kiev and Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ankara has recently proposed a limited security arrangement to protect shipping and energy infrastructure, recalling a 2022 grain deal brokered by the U.N. and Türkiye to ensure safe passage for vessels.
“If a comprehensive ceasefire and peace agreement cannot be reached, we are calling for a limited agreement in two areas: refraining from attacks on energy infrastructure and ensuring the safety of commercial navigation in the Black Sea,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Dec. 13.
“That agreement protected not only grain vessels but all ships from being targeted. For a significant period, trade in the Black Sea continued without disruption despite the war. There is now a renewed need for a similar arrangement,” he said.
