By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Türkiye to send a stronger message to Ukraine over attacks on Turkish-owned commercial vessels in the Black Sea, pressing Ankara to move beyond its current policy of blaming neither side publicly.
Lavrov said Russia expected Türkiye to respond more firmly after a series of drone attacks damaged vessels with Turkish ownership or crews. He linked those incidents to Ukraine's wider campaign against Russian maritime traffic and logistics in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Türkiye has not publicly accepted Russia's attribution.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that Turkish-owned commercial vessels were struck in separate incidents near Ukrainian ports in May and June, but it did not identify the attacker in either case.
On May 28, a Turkish-owned, Vanuatu-flagged dry cargo vessel travelling from Odesa toward Türkiye was hit in a drone attack. Two Turkish crew members were lightly injured.
Türkiye said it had conveyed warnings to all relevant parties and called for the protection of civilian shipping.
A second Turkish-owned vessel, sailing under the Panamanian flag, was struck near Chornomorsk on June 22. Two Turkish citizens were injured.
After that attack, Ankara said it had conveyed its concerns to both Russia and Ukraine, preserving its policy of treating attacks on civilian shipping as a Black Sea security problem rather than publicly assigning responsibility without verified evidence.
Lavrov's latest remarks seek to change that position.
Russia says Ukraine has expanded attacks against ports, tankers, cargo vessels and logistics routes in the Sea of Azov. Moscow describes the operations as attacks on civilian commerce, while Kyiv says it is targeting assets that support Russia's military and wartime supply network.
Russian authorities said the recent campaign disrupted shipping and forced contingency planning for grain exports. Ukraine has not accepted Russia's description of all the affected vessels as civilian targets.
No Turkish-owned or Turkish-flagged vessel has been independently confirmed among the ships struck in the latest Sea of Azov attack wave.
Lavrov nevertheless connected the earlier incidents involving Turkish-owned vessels with the wider Ukrainian maritime campaign, arguing that Ankara should publicly condemn Kyiv.
Türkiye has also warned Russia over Black Sea security.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Lavrov in June that Moscow should avoid steps that could threaten Türkiye's security and interests in the region. Ankara has repeatedly called on both Russia and Ukraine to protect commercial navigation and prevent the war from spreading further into Black Sea shipping routes.
The distinction between ownership and flag is central to the recent incidents. The vessels confirmed by Türkiye were Turkish-owned but sailed under foreign flags, meaning they were linked to Türkiye commercially and through their crews without being Turkish-flagged ships.
Lavrov's intervention places pressure on Ankara to abandon that distinction and adopt Russia's attribution of responsibility. Türkiye's public record so far does not support such a shift.
Sources: Türkiye's Foreign Ministry, Russia's Foreign Ministry, Reuters, APA, Bosphorus News review and reporting.