Turkish Admiral Accuses Ukraine of Black Sea Threat
Former Turkish Navy chief Cihat Yaycı accuses Ukraine of endangering Black Sea shipping and says Kyiv must cover Turkey’s additional security costs.
Former Chief of Staff of the Turkish Naval Forces, Rear Admiral Cihat Yaycı, accused Ukraine of posing a threat to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
In an interview with GZT, he said the situation in the region had become more dangerous because of the large number of naval mines, unmanned surface vessels, drones and attacks on civilian ships. According to Yaycı, drifting mines and strikes against vessels sailing to and from Russian ports pose a particular threat.
Yaycı claimed that five Turkey-linked vessels, as well as several other ships, had come under attack. He blamed Ukraine for the incidents and described such actions as an international crime. In his assessment, the international response to what is happening remains inadequate.
The retired rear admiral also warned about the possible consequences of similar attacks near the Turkish Straits. He stressed that the explosion of an oil tanker in a Turkish port or in the Bosphorus could endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
For this reason, Turkey is being forced to strengthen its security measures, he said. These include deploying mine-detection radars, installing sonar systems capable of detecting divers, and expanding intelligence and surveillance capabilities on the approaches to the straits.
Yaycı believes that Ankara is being forced to bear additional costs because of all these measures and that Kyiv must fully compensate Turkey for those expenses.