Turkey Says Ukrainian Strikes Off Black Sea 'Worrying Escalation'

"We cannot under any circumstances accept these attacks, which threaten the safety of navigation, the environment and lives in our exclusive economic zone,” Erdoğan said in televised remarks after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

The two empty tankers — the Virat and the Kairos — reported explosions on Nov. 28 but no casualties, Turkish officials said. 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.

Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey stands ready to “make the necessary contributions to end the war,” while describing the recent strikes as a “worrying escalation.”

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.

Erdoğan warned that the “conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea,” adding, “We are issuing the necessary warnings to all parties regarding such situations.”

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 Turkey's central Black Sea coast.

VesselFinder lists the MIDVOLGA-2 as an "oil/chemical tanker." It did not give an updated position for the vessel, whose location was last listed on Nov. 21 when it was said to be traveling from the Turkish port of Samsun to Russia's Rostov-on-Don.