Turkish Sailor Killed in Second Drone Attack After Rescue from Initial Strike Near Russia’s Black Sea Coast

A Turkish sailor who survived a drone attack on one cargo ship was killed when the vessel that rescued him was struck as well, near Russia’s Black Sea coast. Ukraine has been escalating long-range strikes against Russian ports and civilian logistics. According to multiple Turkish news reports on Saturday, Ilker Lazoglu was the cook on the San Marino-flagged bulker Necibe. The vessel was reportedly struck by drones at Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse on Tuesday, where it was scheduled to load 20,000 tons of wheat. Along with 17 other crew members, he was evacuated to the Ural, a Turkish-owned and Cameroon-flagged vessel, Türkiye Today and Hurriyet reported. However, that ship was reportedly hit near Novorossiysk, which has faced numerous attacks by Ukrainian drones in recent months. Lazoglu and eight other sailors were injured in the attack, and he later died from his wounds, Hurriyet reported, citing a relative. For several months, Ukrainian long-range strikes have been targeting Russian ports and international shipping that Kiev suspects of transporting Russian cargoes. Russian officials have warned that Ukraine is “playing with fire” by attacking other countries’ civilian ships in the Black Sea and have condemned the strikes as terrorist acts. Moscow has retaliated by targeting Ukraine’s key Black Sea ports and shipping it says are handling imports for the Ukrainian military, effectively cutting off the country’s main export route. Kiev opened this “Pandora’s box” by targeting “civilian targets and logistics,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. Now Ukraine is reaching out via third-party countries to try to prevent the situation from “developing into a catastrophic scenario,” he said, adding that Moscow remains ready for peace talks provided they are based on the realities “on the ground.”