JAKARTA - Russia says that a number of mines that Ukraine has installed in the Black Sea are now 'loose', floating in the ocean and their exact location is not known, they are considered to pose a threat to merchant ships.
About a dozen mines that the Ukrainian Navy moored in the Black Sea about a month ago are now afloat and their exact location is unknown, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
According to the official, a dozen or so mines had their wires cut due to conditions that could not withstand stormy weather and floated south in the western Black Sea.
The top military officer with the rank of major general recalled that one Ukrainian mine had been found and neutralized by Turkish specialists recently. Another one was detonated in Romanian territorial waters.
"Where the remaining Ukrainian mines may be floating at the moment is a concern for many," Konashenkov said, quoted from TASS on April 1.
He stressed that Kyivv's criminal actions created a threat to merchant ships from all Black Sea countries.
As previously reported, Turkey's Ministry of National Defense announced on Monday, a mine was found in the Black Sea near the border with Bulgaria.
"On March 28, 2022, a mine was discovered near the border with Bulgaria off the coast of Igneada, to which an underwater defense team was immediately dispatched. The mine was secured and work is underway to defuse it," the statement said.
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Not long ago, a team of Turkish specialists succeeded in neutralizing the mine, according to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
"The underwater defense team neutralized the mines detected on March 28, 2022, outside the city of Igneada," the ministry said.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he discussed the issue with representatives of Russia and Ukraine. Minister Akar also stated that after the incident, the Turkish Navy minesweeper was assigned to the region.
A week earlier on March 19, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that a mine placed by the Ukrainian Navy near a Black Sea port could float towards the Bosphorus and the Mediterranean Sea due to a broken cable.
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