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Turkish Armed Forces Boost Mines Monitoring Operations in Bosphorus Strait, Reports Say

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Turkish armed forces have boosted security control in the Bosphorus Strait because of drifting mines installed at the entrance to the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Ochakov, Chernomorsk and Yuzhnoe at the beginning of the Russian military operation, Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported on Monday, citing sources.
Sputnik
An implementation of the measures already taken against the mine threat in the Black Sea and the state of high readiness still remain in effect, the report said.
In the western part of the Black Sea, the Turkish military launched monitoring operations from the air employing maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as from the sea using mine-sweeping and patrol ships in coordination with the coast guard teams, the newspaper reported.
The Bosporus Strait has been examined by electro-optical surveillance systems, involving special underwater teams, the report also said.
It added that the activities to monitor the drifting mines are conducted in coordination with Romanian and Bulgarian maritime military centers.
Earlier in March, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the Ukrainian military had installed about 420 mines at the entrance to the Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the Russian military operation in the country. The FSB did not exclude the possibility of the mines drifting to the Bosporus Strait and further into the Mediterranean Sea.
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