Bucharest rejected the Russian embassy’s claims about the alleged Ukrainian origin of sea mines.
The Romanian Defense Ministry responded to Russia’s claims about mines in the Black Sea and directly indicated that Moscow is responsible for this threat. This is reported by “European Truth” with reference to Digi24.
The reason for the public controversy was a post by the Romanian defense ministry on social networks on March 25, which mentioned Romania’s actions to clear the Black Sea from Russian mines.
After that, the Russian embassy in Bucharest issued a statement claiming that all mines in the Black Sea are of “exclusively Ukrainian origin” and are not related to Russia. As an argument, Moscow once again repeated its long-standing version that Ukraine allegedly mined the approaches to ports near Odessa, and later these mines began to drift under the influence of weather conditions.
In response, the Romanian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the mine situation in the Black Sea is “the result exclusively of the actions of the Russian Federation against a sovereign and independent state — Ukraine.” The department also stated that constant attempts to divert attention from the real causes of the danger in the Black Sea are another example of Russia’s intentions to distort reality.
The problem of the mine threat for Romania and Bulgaria has remained relevant for several years. From time to time, sea mines, and sometimes drones, are discovered near the coast or directly on the shore.
Against the background of these risks, in 2024, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania began joint activities to demine the Black Sea. USM also previously reported that Sweden is preparing resources to demine the water area after the ceasefire.
