Loose guns, actually floating. The direct consequences of the war in Ukraine are waving in the waves. The naval forces of the countries bordering the Black Sea sounded the alarm: the presence of bombs was detected in the waters concerned float, which have been moving driven by the current for days. Initially, the explosives were placed in the port areas by the Ukrainian Defense Forces to prevent Russian ships from approaching the coast and, most importantly, to protect the city Odesa, strategic exit for Kyiv. After a few storms, the anchor cables that connected them to the seabed became loose, leaving the mines bobbing dangerously in the waves.
The Ministry of Hydrographic and Maritime Oceanography of the Turkish Navy has issued a Navtex notice in this regard. The communiqué, which is also published on the institutional pages, draws attention to the possibility of mines floating in the Black Sea: “It is reported that the mines were placed in the ports of Odessa, Ochakov, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Can replace the mines,” the report said. There Turkish Navy He therefore requested all ships in the area to monitor the drifting bombs and immediately report their presence to the authorities. According to the intelligence services, “the possibility of derailed mines floating in the Bosphorus and further afield in the seas of the Bosphorus Basin cannot be ruled out Mediterranean Sea“.
The Russian 007 reports speak of “approx 420 mines obsolete types, NM (anchor mines) and NRM (river anchor mines), manufactured in the first half of the 20th century “floating. The bombs according to reports ” under the influence of wind and currents, move freely in the western part of the Black Sea “. A circumstance that the Russian Federal Security Service uses to point the finger at Ukraine, accusing it of “complete disregard for the principles of international law and disregard for human life, including the lives of citizens of the European Union, to demonstrate . “The allegations to which Kyiv does not respond are hidden behind obvious reasons inner defense.
Meanwhile, the Romanian Naval Forces also sent a patrol vessel to check for the presence of mines in territorial waters after the Hydrographic Directorate last Friday a alarm in relation to the northwestern area of the Black Sea. According to the Romanian authorities, no mines have been detected in the patrol area so far, but in the event that this happens, “the naval forces are ready to act with reasonable means of contrast”. High alert on the sea front also from Bulgaria. In fact, the Sofia government has ensured that the naval forces and civil authorities are taking exceptional surveillance measures and are ready to neutralize them explosive devices.
“Residents near the coast are advised to call the emergency number if they find suspicious spherical objects in the water or on the coast,” the Bulgarian authorities warned in a statement. Crews of merchant ships in the area have been instructed to monitor the sea with the utmost vigilance and to inform coastal authorities immediately if they spot suspicious objects in the water. In recent hours, Bulgaria (which overlooks the Black Sea for 378 kilometers) had urged fishing boats to avoid entering the waters, precisely in relation to the risk of encountering bombs dropped from their moorings. That too is war, albeit at a nautical mile distance.