Turkey said on Monday it had shot down an out-of-control drone that was approaching its airspace over the Black Sea. This was written by AFP with reference to the Turkish Ministry of Defense.
“To avoid any adverse consequences, the drone was shot down in a safe zone, far from any populated area,” the ministry said in a statement, without specifying the origin of the machine. To ensure the safety of the airspace, Turkish F-16 fighter jets, which are under the command of NATO and the state, also took off, the Ministry of Defense added.
The incident came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Saturday that the Black Sea was turning into a “confrontation zone” between Russia and Ukraine following several recent attacks on ships.
On Saturday, Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out a drone attack on a Turkish cargo ship carrying sunflower oil in the aforementioned sea. This happened a day after Russian airstrikes on two Ukrainian ports damaged three Turkish vessels, according to Kyiv. The strikes on the ports were preceded by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat that Russia would extend its strikes to the ports and the ships entering them, and that it would cut off Ukraine from the sea.
