Turkey has summoned Ukraine's ambassador in Ankara after two Turkish-operated vessels were struck in the Black Sea, formally raising concerns about the safety of civilian shipping as attacks connected to the Russia-Ukraine war intensify around commercial routes.
Turkish officials delivered the protest to Ambassador Naryman Dzhelialo at the Foreign Ministry on Saturday. The ministry said safety for people, property, navigation and the environment must be protected in the Black Sea. Anadolu Agency and Al Jazeera both reported the diplomatic meeting.
The action followed attacks on the container ship Lider Bordo Mavi and the Lider Kocatepe. The Lider Bordo Mavi was hit on Wednesday while it was off Tuapse, a Russian port on the eastern Black Sea. The Lider Kocatepe was then targeted by a drone the following day while traveling to assist the first ship, according to Al Jazeera's account.
Turkish media reported that the damaged Lider Bordo Mavi was towed to Samsun, on Turkey's Black Sea coast. The available reports did not provide a complete public assessment of damage to both vessels or identify a final official attribution for every strike. Ankara's statement focused on the risks and its protest rather than announcing a military response.
Commercial navigation in the Black Sea has faced elevated danger since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict has repeatedly affected ports, export infrastructure and shipping. More recent attacks have increased pressure on civilian operators whose vessels travel near Russian and Ukrainian facilities.
Turkey has repeatedly called for attacks on commercial ships to stop. Earlier in August, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said civilian shipping was being attacked without sufficient distinction. Another cargo ship, the Nadezhda, was hit near Novorossiysk earlier in the month, seriously injuring three crew members, according to Al Jazeera.
The issue is especially important for Ankara because Turkish commercial vessels regularly use the sea and Turkey controls the Bosphorus and Dardanelles linking it with the Mediterranean. A strike can endanger crews and cargo, disrupt trade and create pollution risks even when a ship is not the intended military target.
Turkey has maintained working relationships with both Kyiv and Moscow and has presented itself as a potential mediator. It has supplied defense equipment to Ukraine but has not joined Western sanctions against Russia. Ukraine's government also ratified a free-trade agreement with Turkey in July. Those overlapping ties make a formal summons a pointed diplomatic signal, but not a break in relations.
Ankara's immediate demand is that the parties protect civilian life and navigation. Questions remain about responsibility for the individual attacks and the measures that can keep rescue vessels from becoming targets. Until those questions are resolved, operators face a security environment in which even assistance to a damaged ship may carry additional risk.
