"While performing tasks in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, the patrol ship Sergey Kotov of the Black Sea Fleet identified and disabled a drifting Ukrainian mine 180 kilometers northeast of the Bosphorus Strait. According to the ship commander's decision, a Ka-27 helicopter was scrambled into the air, and the crew destroyed the mine with machine-gun fire," the statement said.
Last week, the Russian Black Sea Fleet command issued a mine hazard warning regarding the shipping route in the northwestern section of the waters after discovering a drifting Ukrainian mine.
"The Ukrainian navy's unprofessionalism and irresponsibility has led to the fact that today an unknown number of mines are drifting in the Black Sea, posing a persistent threat to shipping," officials maintained.