Turkey shoots down 'out of control' drone over Black Sea
An "out of control" drone was shot down over the Black Sea as it was approaching Turkey, the country's Defense Ministry said on Dec. 15.
The incident comes as Ankara rebukes both Kyiv and Moscow over escalating hostilities in the Black Sea amid Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said that after the drone was detected, F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response.
After authorities assessed that the drone was out of control, it was "shot down in a safe area outside of a populated area," the ministry reported, without providing details on the drone's model, origin, or the exact crash site.
Speaking in Ankara on Dec. 16, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "recent reciprocal attacks seriously threaten navigation safety" in the Black Sea region.
"Targeting commercial and civilian ships benefits no one," Erdogan said, without mentioning the downing of the drone. The Turkish leader said that Ankara had conveyed warnings to "both sides" regarding the matter, referring to Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine said that Russian drones on Dec. 13 struck the Turkish cargo vessel Viva as it was carrying sunflower oil through the Black Sea corridor.
Russia regularly launches mass drone and missile strikes on ports in southern Ukraine, often striking civilian cargo vessels.
Ukraine also faced criticism from the Turkish side in late November after Ukrainian naval drones struck two sanctioned Russian shadow fleet oil tankers, Kairos and Virat, off Turkey's coast.
Turkey is one of the few countries to maintain direct contact with both Kyiv and Moscow since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, leveraging its unique position on the Black Sea to act as a mediator between both sides.
Turkey controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, making it the only NATO member able to restrict naval access to the Black Sea.
