Turkiye summons Ukraine envoy over Black Sea ship attacks
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- Turkiye's Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine's ambassador Naryman Dzhelialo in Ankara on Saturday, warning of "the absolute need to ensure the safety of people, of assets, of navigation and of the environment in the Black Sea," per an AFP report.
- Two Turkish-operated vessels were struck this week: the container ship Lider Bordo Mavi off Tuapse, Russia on Wednesday, and the Lider Kocatepe hit by a drone the next day while en route to assist the first ship; Lider Bordo Mavi was towed to the Turkish port of Samsun.
- Earlier this month, three crew members were seriously injured when the Nadezhda cargo ship was hit by a drone near the Russian port of Novorossiysk — attacks Turkish media and officials have attributed to Ukraine.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan publicly demanded a halt to Black Sea attacks, stating, "They are attacking all commercial shipping without distinction."
- Turkiye maintains working ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, has not applied Western sanctions on Russia, has sold US-made defense equipment to Ukraine, and ratified a free trade agreement with Ukraine in July — a balancing posture the vessel strikes are now testing.
Why it matters: Three Turkish crew seriously injured and two Turkish commercial vessels struck in a single week turn neutral merchant shipping into the visible cost of Ukraine's campaign to degrade Russian export revenues. Ankara's summons puts direct diplomatic pressure on Kyiv from one of the few capitals still mediating between both sides and still selling Kyiv US-made defense equipment.
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