Russia claimed on Wednesday that it thwarted un Attack carried out by three Ukrainian pilotless boats against one of their warships in the Turkish maritime economic zonein the latest in a series of acts of sabotage that Moscow accuses Kiev.
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“Today at 0530 (0230 GMT), the Ukrainian armed forces unsuccessfully attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet ship ‘Ivan Khurs’ using pilotless speedboats (…) in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone,” The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram, adding that the three boats were destroyed.
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According to Moscow, the attack took place at 02:30 GMT, while the Russian ship “carried out tasks to ensure the safe operation of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines,” through which Russia exports gas to Turkey.
“All enemy vessels were destroyed by regular gunfire from the Russian ship, 140 km northeast of the Bosphorus Strait,” the Russian ministry said.
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for now, Türkiye has not commented on the incident.
Since the offensive in Ukraine began on February 22, 2022, there have been several incidents with Russian warships or planes in the Black Sea.
All enemy vessels were destroyed by regular gunfire from the Russian ship, 140 km northeast of the Bosphorus Strait.
In March this year, two Russian jets intercepted an American drone over the Black Sea and shot it down, an episode that led to a brief escalation of tensions between Washington and Moscow.
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In April 2022, Ukraine claimed to have sunk the Russian cruiser “Moskva” with missiles, although Russia claimed it was an accident caused by the ammunition on board the ship.
The zone is also used to export Ukrainian grains, crucial for African and Asian countries, thanks to an agreement sponsored by the UN and Turkey and which last week was extended by two months.
AFP
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