Naval mines drifting uncontrolled in the Black Sea are being released by Russia, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It has been established that these were sea mines, which, as of the beginning of 2022, were not registered with the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the statement said.
Instead, the mines now floating in the Black Sea had been seized by the Russians in Sevastopol during their annexation of Crimea in 2014 and were now being released into the sea to tarnish the international reputation of Ukraine, the statement added.
“The responsibility for the use of drifting naval mines, as well as for their unpredictable consequences, lies solely with the Russian Federation and its naval forces,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
Russia’s Defence Ministry and Federal Security Service had warned that Ukraine was releasing uncontrolled naval mines, posing a danger to ships in the area.
Turkish experts have defused two of the mines.
