Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says hundreds of landmines have been diverted to the Black Sea after being cut off by cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim denied by Ukraine, which said it was a misinformation and an attempt to close parts of the sea. .
The Black Sea is an important shipping route for the transportation of grain, oil and petroleum products. The port authority Novorossiisk, in a note obtained by Reuters, said that shipping is in danger in the western Black Sea.
“Due to the storm, the cables connecting the mines to the anchors were broken,” said the Federal Security Service. Russia (FSB), in a press release dated 19 March.
“Due to wind and water currents, mines are being swept into the open sea in the western part of the Black Sea,” the FSB said.
Russia’s Federal Reserve said about 420 landmines had been detonated, claiming they had been planted by Ukrainian forces. THE Ukraine stated that the FSB warning was false and that it had no information about any mines drifting into the sea.
“This is a complete misinformation from the Russian side,” Viktor Vishnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s state naval administration, told Reuters.
This was done to justify the closure of these areas of the Black Sea under the so-called “mine risk”.
The Ukrainian Navy said it had the sole right to issue security alerts for its Black Sea division, and described Moscow’s warning as an attempt to “steal” information.
The Turkish station Samsun NAVTEX issued a mine warning on the approaches to Odessa and other ports of Ukraine.
“It is important to pay special attention to drift mines from all ships in the area,” he said. “Ships in the area are required to report immediately any traces of drones or similar objects.”
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