Turkey has shot down a drone that entered its airspace from the Black Sea, the country’s Ministry of Defense confirmed.
The incident follows Turkey’s recent warning of escalation in the Black Sea region, issued last week after Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports damaged three Turkish-owned cargo ships.
According to a statement from the ministry, Turkish and NATO F-16 fighter jets were put on alert to secure Turkish airspace following the drone detection. The drone was deemed out of control and was shot down in a safe area, though the ministry did not provide further details on its type or origin.
The Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports occurred shortly after Moscow threatened to cut off Ukraine from the sea, in retaliation for attacks by Kyiv that damaged three tankers of the so-called “shadow fleet” en route to export Russian oil via the Black Sea.
