Naval mines laid by the Ukrainian Navy near Odessa have turned into an uncontrolled threat to shipping after some of the munitions broke free from their moorings and began drifting across the Black Sea.

Military expert and reserve Captain 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin told aif.ru that the mining operation dated back to 2022, when the barriers were placed to prevent a possible amphibious landing. According to him, old munitions were used, and some eventually separated from their mooring cables and were carried away by Black Sea currents.

The loose mines have since appeared in different parts of the sea. Some reached the Bosphorus area, where they were destroyed by gunfire, while Romania also faced the consequences. Dandykin also said a Ukrainian vessel struck one of the mines.

Once separated from their anchoring systems, the munitions no longer remained confined to the areas where they had originally been deployed. Instead, the anchor mines became a mobile and unpredictable danger capable of travelling across significant stretches of the Black Sea under the influence of currents.

Such cases have been recorded for several years. Drifting munitions were found off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria as well as near the Bosphorus.

The original report links the situation to the Ukrainian Navy command’s failure to account for the consequences of deploying outdated mines, which ultimately resulted in control being lost over part of the minefield.