Source: France 24 [French state media]
“A water-borne drone struck a Turkish-operated crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait on Thursday, Turkey’s transportation minister said. The incident, one of several in recent months involving Western-sanctioned vessels heading to or from Russian ports, occurred in the early hours, minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told broadcaster Kanal 24. … Other commercial tankers carrying crude oil from Russian ports have been targeted over the past year by what some experts suggest is a state-sponsored sabotage campaign using limpet mines and other explosives. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for these attacks. ” (03/26/26)