The Ukrainian Navy has mined the ports of Odessa, Ochakiv, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny, the Russian domestic secret service FSB said on Saturday in Moscow. However, some of the more than 420 anchored sea mines were torn loose in the storm. That threatens ships on the Black Sea. In the worst case, mines could drift through the Turkish straits into the Mediterranean, the FSB statement said.
The Ukrainian portal BlackSeaNews, which specializes in shipping, also quoted the Russian warning of floating sea mines on Saturday. However, citing its own sources, it reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet laid the sea mines on the route between Odessa and the Bosphorus. There was no independent confirmation of this.