Russian sea mines wash up onto Ukraine beach in stormy weather
Ukraine has claimed two Russian sea mines have washed onto one of its beaches in stormy weather.
The Ukrainian military said the explosives were found in the Odessa region on Saturday.
The Operational Command South, a Ukrainian Ground Forces formation, added the enemy anchor mines had been carried close to the coast but were safely removed by Navy specialists and later destroyed.
It thanked citizens for notifying it about the mine so it could take fast action, Newsweek reported.
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The Operational Command South said: "In the sea in the Odessa region, near one of the beaches, an enemy mine was found.
"Being tens of metres from the shore, it does not pose a direct threat. However, once again we are reminded of the dangers of swimming and other uses of our coastal waters.
"We thank our fellow citizens for their vigilance and notifying us to take prompt action.
The Ukrainian Navy added: "In the Odessa region, two naval enemy mines, which were brought close to the coast in stormy weather, were removed and neutralized by specialists of the Navy bomb team."
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In March, Ukraine accused Russia of planting mines in the Black Sea and said some of those munitions had to be defused off Turkey and Romania as risks to vital merchant shipping in the region grow.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Ukraine was showing no willingness to continue peace talks on Wednesday, but officials in Kyiv blamed Russia for the lack of progress.
The last known face-to-face peace negotiations were on 29 March.
Officials said contacts had continued remotely, but both sides said the talks had stagnated on Tuesday.
"Negotiations are not progressing and we note the complete unwillingness of Ukrainian negotiators to continue this process", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
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Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for the situation.
"Putin is not ready to hold talks," he said on the Telegram messaging app.
"The only chance(for peace) is the destruction of the Russian occupiers. As for when they will be ready to accept defeat, I think it's a matter of months."
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated an offer to hold direct talks with Putin last week but Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian leader, said that talks were "on hold".
Putin has said Russian forces are on a special operation to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine.
The West and Kyiv call that a false pretext to invade Ukraine on 24 February.
