“The Black Sea Fleet command has issued a warning to sailors about the risk of mines along the shipping route in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” the statement said.

The Defense Ministry said that the warning was triggered by the sighting of a drifting Ukrainian naval mine, deployed in early 2022, when “indiscriminate minelaying was conducted in the coastal waters of the Black Sea, regardless of the threat to navigation safety.”

The Russian Defense Ministry reminded that similar cases had been reported earlier.

“In March 2022, two anchor mines deployed by the Ukrainian military in the waters off the coast of Odessa were spotted drifting off the coasts of Romania and Turkey. Tragedy was avoided then,” the statement said. In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that “the Ukrainian Navy’s unprofessionalism and irresponsibility have resulted in the fact that an unidentified number of mines are currently drifting in the waters of the Black Sea, posing a constant threat to navigation.”

pll/iff/mem/gfa