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Drifting sea mines bring Ukraine war to Turkey’s Bosporus Strait

At least three mines thought to have crossed the Black Sea have been spotted around the north mouth of one of the world’s busiest maritime channels.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Turkish-owned Yasa Jupiter ship, which was hit by a missile off the coast of Ukraine's port city Odessa, sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 25, 2022.

ISTANBUL — Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait, one of the world’s busiest waterways, is threatened by naval mines drifting across the Black Sea from Ukraine, posing a danger to maritime traffic in the area.

Three mines have been destroyed over the past two weeks, the third detonated by Turkish military divers near the strait’s northern entrance on Wednesday, raising concerns about the growing risk to the thousands of tankers and container ships that pass through the channel every year.

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