Between Odessa and Bosphorus
Sea mines drift through the Black Sea
03/19/2022, 7:08 p.m
In early March, hidden landmines killed three civilians on a street in Ukraine. Now the danger on the high seas is also increasing. The Russian fleet is said to have mined the route between Odessa and the Bosphorus, Kyiv reports. The FSB blames the Ukrainian Navy.
Because of the Russian war against Ukraine, the danger from sea mines is growing in the north-western Black Sea off the Ukrainian coast. Both sides blame each other for it. The Ukrainian Navy has mined the ports of Odessa, Ochakiv, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny, the Russian domestic secret service FSB said. However, some of the more than 420 anchored sea mines were torn loose in the storm. That threatens ships on the Black Sea. In the worst case, mines could drift through the Turkish straits into the Mediterranean, the FSB statement said.
The Ukrainian portal BlackSeaNews, which specializes in shipping, also cited the Russian warning of floating sea mines. However, citing its own sources, it reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet laid the sea mines on the route between Odessa and the Bosphorus. There was no independent confirmation of this.
Since the February 24 Russian attack, shipping in the north-western part of the Black Sea has been forced to a standstill. Little traffic can be seen off the coasts of EU and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria. On Thursday, Ukraine accused the Russian Navy of detaining nearly a hundred ships in the waters of Ukrainian ports. On the other hand, the Russian military said that the crews of 70 foreign ships were blocked in the ports of Ukraine because of the “high risk of mines”.
Anti-personnel mines outlawed: Russia failed to ratify treaty
The danger of mines is also growing in the countryside and in the cities of Ukraine. According to Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj, Ukraine will still have to struggle with mine clearance for years after the end of the war. Buildings cannot be rehabilitated without first being checked for mines. Ukraine is dependent on the help of other countries. He has already appealed to his colleagues in the EU, said Monastyrskyj on Wednesday. Ukraine is already assuming war damage of the equivalent of hundreds of billions of euros.
On March 8, for the first time since the beginning of the war, people died in an anti-personnel mine explosion: three civilians were killed on a road in the Chernihiv region. Three children were injured, said the human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament, Lyudmyla Denisova. The mine detonated when the victims drove a car over the explosive device. The mines, hidden under straw and rubbish, were placed on the road by the Russian army.
According to the Human Rights Commissioner, the use of such weapons against the civilian population is prohibited under international law and constitutes “a crime against humanity”. The so-called Ottawa Convention from 1997 prohibits the member countries from using, stockpiling and producing anti-personnel mines. Ukraine has joined the international treaty, unlike Russia or the USA.