Turkey urges Black Sea security following strikes on commercial ships and Ukrainian cities

Turkey has called on Russia and Ukraine to protect maritime navigation in the Black Sea after drone attacks damaged two Turkish-owned commercial vessels, Yasar and Nadezhda, near the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Turkish officials cautioned that rising conflict in key shipping lanes threatens global food security and maritime safety.

Concurrently, Russian forces conducted aerial bombardment across multiple Ukrainian regions. Guided bomb strikes in Sumy killed three civilians, including two young children, and damaged residential housing. In Mykolaiv and Odesa, drone attacks targeted port infrastructure, damaging two merchant vessels. Ukrainian authorities also accused Russian forces of targeted civilian strikes in Kherson, pointing to police video footage showing a drone pursuing a street vendor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, describing the footage as deeply shocking.

Sources: Adevărul, Digi24, HotNews, Moldova1, Ziarul de Gardă