An object believed to be a stray drone crashed into the yard of a police station on Tuesday, Aug. 18 in Trabzon, Turkey’s Black Sea coastal city.
Local authorities reported that the crash occurred in the Arsin district at around 7:00 p.m. local time, damaging four vehicles and breaking windows at the police building and nearby businesses.
According to Türkiye Today, authorities secured the scene and opened an investigation into the incident. No injuries were reported.
“Information will be provided after the investigation into the origin of the aircraft is completed,” Trabzon Governor Tahir Sahin said.
Black Sea remains volatile
The incident follows a broader pattern of incidents along the Black Sea coast in recent months.
On Aug. 16, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) washed ashore on Basoglu Beach in Sakarya’s Kaynarca district, prompting a security response from Turkish authorities.
Upon further examination, authorities determined the object was a component of a Gerbera-type drone’s body. It was not laden with explosive material.
Just days earlier, Türkiye Today reported that a similar type of UAV was found in the sea off the northwestern province of Duzce and was taken away for examination.
Turkey has grown increasingly concerned about the risk to civilian shipping and coastal security as the war spills further into the region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already warned against the Black Sea becoming an “area of confrontation” in December 2025, due to several strikes on ships and multiple stray drones approaching its airspace from the region.
On June 6, a Turkish-flagged fishing vessel, the Duru 67, came under fire west of Russian-occupied Sevastopol, resulting in the death of one crew member and wounding of four others.
A Russian missile struck the Turkish-owned cargo ship Golden Leo as it departed Odesa with grain, killing 10 people on July 20, with Ukraine saying the attack targeted civilian shipping amid an intensifying campaign against Black Sea ports and maritime exports.
Pushing for Black Sea measures
Turkey called on Russia and Ukraine to take direct measures to ensure navigational safety in the Black Sea, following a drone attack on a Turkish-owned vessel on Aug. 4 that left three crew members severely injured near Russia’s Novorossiysk port.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later proposed a temporary ceasefire on attacks against critical targets in the Black Sea to help protect maritime security and prevent further escalation, Türkiye Today reported.
However, Russia rejected the idea, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying Moscow had not received a formal proposal from Turkey. She also warned against “half-measures” that would give Ukraine relief without resolving the wider conflict.