Turkey Demands Black Sea 'Moratorium' as Civilian Ships Come Under Fire

Turkey's foreign minister has called for an immediate halt to attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, warning that the conflict is now hitting all commercial shipping without distinction. Hakan Fidan told Turkey's state news agency that strikes have spread beyond ports and military vessels, with ships belonging to Turkey or flying its flag among those targeted. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces struck Ukrainian port infrastructure and vessels supporting the Ukrainian military. According to Moscow, the strikes hit military warehouses in Odesa, a cargo vessel carrying military equipment in Mykolaiv, and another dry cargo ship transporting supplies in the Black Sea. Ukraine denied any intentional attack on Bulgaria after a drone exploded near a strategic gas pipeline linking Turkey to Ukraine, close to the Romanian border. Bulgaria's defence ministry said the drone was a type widely used by the Ukrainian military, and summoned Ukraine's ambassador for a meeting on Monday. Kyiv said it was in close contact with Bulgaria to clarify the incident, insisting its forces did not intentionally direct any assets toward the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces a winter with no working thermal power plants, after overnight Russian strikes killed four people, including a child, in the Kyiv region. Speaking in Belgrade, he said Moscow's attacks had killed 13 people in the last 24 hours, with missiles aimed at making life unbearable for Ukrainians. Zelenskyy is making his first official visit to Serbia in eight years, holding talks with President Aleksandar Vucic on economic ties and security. Vucic called Ukraine a "friendly nation" and discussed both countries' efforts to join the European Union. Separately, German authorities opened an investigation after drones were spotted above an army installation in Mechernich known to house components for US-made Patriot air-defence systems. The site, which stores equipment 130 metres underground, is one of several key military locations in Germany. The sighting follows the discovery of an explosives-laden drone near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, a hub for military goods transport by Germany and Nato allies.