Romania destroys mine found floating off Black Sea coast: Defense Ministry

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A Romanian military dive team on Monday destroyed a mine detected some 72 kilometers (45 miles) offshore in the Black Sea, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Monday.

In a statement, the ministry said that fishermen had spotted the mine in the Cape Midia region and reported it to the naval forces.

Earlier, Turkish authorities also defused a mine found off the northern coast of Igneada near the Bulgarian maritime border on Monday. This is the second mine after another was deactivated in the Bosphorus, or Istanbul Strait, over the weekend which caused the brief closure of the Bosphorus.

Commenting on rumors that underwater mines laid by Ukraine to deter Russian attacks in the ongoing war might drift across the Black Sea, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said both the Russian and Ukrainian sides had been notified and that coordination is ongoing.