[Regnum] Kiev's deliberate mining of the Black Sea poses a threat to other states in the region. This was stated on June 26 by official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova on the sidelines of the XII St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
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“Serious concerns for the safety of navigation in the Black Sea are caused by the actions of the Kiev regime to deliberately mine its coastal waters,” she said.
The diplomat recalled that at the beginning of a special military operation in 2022, Ukraine mined its Black Sea ports. Then, due to storms, many mines were torn from their anchors, after which they drifted and ended up off the coast of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
“There is no guarantee that something similar will not happen this time,” Zakharova added.
As Regnum reported, in December 2023, Mikhail Popov, who then held the post of Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, said that a powerful storm in the Black Sea could have scattered anchor mines installed by Kiev militants. This poses a danger to civilian ships, which are being undermined one after another, he noted.
On November 18, 2023, a bulk carrier carrying grain from Odessa, flying the flag of Liberia, hit a mine in the Black Sea. According to MarineTraffic, the ship was heading to Romania.
Later, in the Black Sea, a bulk carrier flying the flag of Panama, following the so-called alternative grain route promoted by Kiev, was blown up by a mine. The ship was heading to one of the Danube ports to load grain.