Sea of ​​Azov: Ukrainian drones hit ships, killing Azerbaijanis

In the Sea of ​​Azov on the night of June 5 drones attacked cargo ships “Natra” And “Zircon”on board of which there were citizens Azerbaijan.

Baku confirmed the death five their citizens and wounding more three. Against the backdrop of recent incidents with Ukrainian naval drones, Lefkada and in Romanian Constanta this story shows: the drone war is increasingly moving beyond the front and begins to affect civil shipping.

Sea of ​​Azov: Ukrainian drones hit ships, killing Azerbaijanis pic.twitter.com/KO23USFga2

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According to ReutersRussia accused Ukraine of attacking two cargo ships sailing from Turkey to the port Rostov-on-Don. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ships “Natra” And “Zircon” and stated that they were marching under flags Belize And Palau.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan confirmed that there were citizens of the republic on board. According to the official representative of the department Aykhana Hajizadehdied as a result of the attack five Azerbaijani citizensmore three were wounded and taken to hospital in Yeisk. At the same time, Baku emphasized that the ships did not belong to Azerbaijan. This is also reported by the Azerbaijani publication Report.

Ukraine admits strike on five ships

Commanding Using Ukrainian unmanned systems Robert Browdyknown by call sign “Madyar”, stated that on the night of June 5 Ukrainian drones struck five ships – dry cargo ships and tanker – in ports Mariupol And Berdyanskas well as in the coastal waters of territories controlled by Russia.

According to the Ukrainian side, the affected ships were involved in transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, military cargo and fuel. Brovdy claimed that some of the ships had their names painted over and their radars turned off. Reuters also conveys this Ukrainian position, but notes that Russia, in turn, claims an attack specifically on ships sailing from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don. Here, as we see, the two versions diverge not in the nuances, but in the very essence: Kyiv speaks of military logistics and illegal transportation, Moscow speaks of civilian ships with foreign crews.

Ukrainian edition Kyiv Post writes that Kyiv confirmed the attack on ships that it considers related to Russian logistics, but did not directly comment on the reports of the death of Azerbaijani sailors. And this silence, to put it mildly, does not look like a strong communication position. When citizens of a third country die, the phrase “we hit logistics” no longer closes the question.

Ships, flags and crews: why history becomes toxic

According to the Russian version, “Natra” And “Zircon” came from Turkey V Rostov-on-Don under foreign flags. Azerbaijani edition Minval Politikacited by the media, also indicated that the dead were members of the crews of these ships, and the ships themselves did not fly the Azerbaijani flag.

This creates an extremely unpleasant picture for Kyiv. Even if Ukraine considers such vessels to be part of Russian logistics, there may be civilian sailors from third countries on board. And in this case, this is no longer abstract “enemy logistics”, but specific dead citizens Azerbaijan.

War at sea has always been a gray area, especially when it comes to ships flying flags of convenience, ports in occupied territories, disabled transponders, transporting grain, fuel and double cargo. But that is precisely why such strikes require extreme precision and political responsibility. Otherwise, each subsequent explosion will generate not only a military effect, but also a diplomatic crisis.

Russia uses the deaths of sailors as a political weapon

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia already called what happened evidence “terrorist in nature” actions of Kyiv. Official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova stated that the injured sailors were helped by a passing Russian ship, and Moscow will assist its partners in clarifying the circumstances and providing consular access.

From the Russian point of view, this is a convenient episode for an information campaign: Ukraine hit the ships, citizens of a third country were killed, the ships sailed under foreign flags, not Russian ones. Moscow will use this as evidence that Ukrainian strikes are becoming a threat to civilian shipping and foreign crews.

The problem for Kyiv is that this time the Russian propaganda frame is not being built from scratch. The fact of death of Azerbaijani citizens was confirmed by Baku. This means that the Ukrainian side will have to explain not only the military purpose of the operation, but also why the strike killed people from a country that was not formally a party to the war.

Continuation of the dangerous line: Lefkada, Constanta, Azov

This attack falls in the same troubling series as recent stories with maritime drones in Lefkada and in Romanian Constanta. There they talked about the risk to Ukraine’s allies and civilian infrastructure. Now we are talking about the dead sailors on ships associated with the route Türkiye – Russia.

In case Lefkada An armed maritime drone was discovered by fishermen off a Greek island and then neutralized by specialists. In case Constanta A Ukrainian naval drone exploded in a Romanian port, after which the authorities evacuated people and began searching for other devices. Now, after an attack on ships, citizens of a third country have died in the Sea of ​​Azov.

Azerbaijan found itself between war and foreign flags

Azerbaijan found himself in a difficult position. On the one hand, the ships did not belong to Baku, and the citizens of the republic, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes, worked for them voluntarily and not on state lines. On the other hand, it was Azerbaijani citizens who died, and this already requires a reaction from the state.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan reportedwhich coordinates actions with relevant structures, diplomatic missions and competent authorities of the relevant countries. Employees of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia have been sent to the site and are keeping the situation under control. Here Baku is clearly trying not to make immediate political conclusions, but it will not be able to simply swallow the death of its citizens. States generally look bad when their citizens are killed, and they limit themselves to a diplomatic cough.

For Ukraine this is especially unpleasant because Azerbaijan is not an enemy of Kyiv. On the contrary, Baku has maintained a difficult but important balance in its relations with Ukraine, Russia and Turkey in recent years. The blow, after which Azerbaijani sailors die, affects not only Russian logistics, but also the diplomatic space around Ukraine.

The incident could complicate Ukraine’s relations not only with Azerbaijanbut also with Turkeysince the ships, according to the Russian version, were coming from Turkey. For Ankara, the security of trade routes in the Black and Azov Seas is of direct importance.

PS Judging by the answer, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan there are no calls to investigate and punish the perpetrators. But it is emphasized that the ships are not Azerbaijani. We will compare it with the reaction to a civilian aircraft shot down by the air defense of the Russian Armed Forces. But for now – very soft.

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