Kiev receives marine drones from West: Sputnik

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Ukraine has received marine drones of Western production, allegedly from the UK, to be employed in the Black Sea to take out naval targets, Russian news agency Sputnik reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

"Despite the boasting of Kiev representatives about the use of drones of their own, that is, Ukrainian production, their profile suggests otherwise. The appearance of Ukrainian Mikola-type naval drones assembled from components supplied to Kiev by NATO does not correspond to the profile of those that attacked the Ivan Khurs," the source told Sputnik.

The source pointed out that Kiev's employment of marine drones points toward escalation in the war: stretching out the battlefront geographically and into a different medium. 

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"The sabotage against the Russian Navy in the exclusive maritime economic zone of Turkey, more than 200 nautical miles from the area of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, is a continuation of the provocative course of the Anglo-Saxons to escalate and expand its geography," the source said.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian drone boat targeting Russian naval ships in Turkish waters was intercepted, and the unmanned vessels were destroyed. The attack took place almost 140 km northeast of the Bosphorus Strait.

The Black Sea has witnessed several military incidents since the beginning of the Ukraine war, most notably the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser in August 2022. Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack, and American media outlets reported that Washington assisted Kiev in the operation.

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