TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

IFJ - INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS THEWEEK NEWS On Friday, a large fire broke out on the Turkish-owned RoPax ship Cenk T (IMO: 7528635) following a massive Russian airstrike on various regions of Ukraine's Odessa Oblast. The Panama-flagged RoPax ship, reportedly carrying vital supplies, was docked in the port of Chornomorsk, one of two targets of the Russian ballistic missiles; the other target was the port of Odessa. A RoPax is a type of Ro-Ro ship modified to carry passengers. Drone strikes also targeted other regions of Odessa Oblast, such as Pivdennyi, home to one of Ukraine's largest and most profitable ports. According to Reuters, citing Ukrainian naval sources, three Turkish ships, including the Cenk T belonging to Cenk RoRo, were damaged in an attack days after Moscow threatened to "cut Ukraine off from the sea." Images from Chornomorsk port showed the Cenk T engulfed in flames, with thick smoke billowing from many of its windows. Despite firefighters' efforts, the fire continued intensely until Saturday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a statement following the airstrike, reiterated the need for an arrangement in which Russia and Ukraine would suspend attacks targeting each other's navigational safety, energy and port infrastructure to prevent an escalation of tension in the Black Sea. However, Erdoğan said "peace is not far off" after his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Erdoğan had previously met with Putin on Friday, suggesting that a limited ceasefire focused on energy facilities and ports could benefit both Moscow and Kiev. Friday's attack came a day after Ukraine launched its first drone strike on Thursday against the Lukoil Filanovsky platform, part of a massive Russian offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea, causing a major disruption to oil production. A Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) official said at least four long-range drones struck the Filanovsky oil platform and halted operations at more than 20 oil and gas wells. Furthermore, just last week, Putin vowed Ukraine would retaliate for Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers carrying oil, which Kiev claims are a key source of funding for Moscow in the nearly four-year-long war.