Download "Turkey actually did it: Russia backs down from the Black Sea"

🔴 Our interactive news map: https://www.rfunews.com/map 🔴 Subscribe to unlock full access to the map + exclusive strategic insights: https://www.rfunews.com/pricing Today, the biggest news comes from the Black Sea. Here, the black sea has become a military environment in Russia’s war against Ukraine, where Russian probing actions mean to scare Ukraine’s allies into submission. This time, however, Turkey is taking the most decisive action by any Nato country yet, establishing an impenetrable shield along their northern coast, and promising that any Russian threat that enters will be met with immediate destruction. Turkey has deployed up to four Akinci unmanned aerial vehicles simultaneously over the southwestern, southern, and southeastern sectors of the Black Sea, creating continuous coverage along its northern coastline. These drones are equipped with the Murad onboard radar, which can identify aerial targets at distances of up to 200 kilometers, allowing Turkish forces to detect any invasive foreign objects long before they approach Turkey’s airspace. With multiple drones overlapping their coverage areas, Russian platforms no longer have maneuver space to probe, approach, or disengage unnoticed. This marks a decisive second stage in Turkey’s posture, as Ankara is setting the conditions under which Russian aircraft cannot operate at all. That shift builds on the earlier phase, when Turkish forces shot down Russian aircraft operating over the Black Sea, and while those incidents showed that Turkey was prepared to use force, they were still only reacting, not preventing. Notably, this still left Russia space to return, test limits, and withdraw, as a total of three drones violated Turkish airspace afterward. The difference is that instead of waiting for violations and responding, Turkey now denies access from the outset. The current posture removes the persistent Russian cycle of violations entirely, as there is no longer a window in which Russian platforms can approach, provoke a response, and reset the situation. This change followed repeated Russian drone flights and air activity near Turkish territory that continued despite warnings. Allowing those flights to persist would have created a situation where Russia dictated the tempo and forced Turkey into a permanently reactive role. Over time, that dynamic favors the side doing the probing, not the side issuing protests, so Turkey’s response reflects the conclusion that passivity invites further pressure rather than stability. The patrol system now in place is built around deterrence, with drones conducting continuous reconnaissance over the Black Sea, identifying contacts as soon as they lift off or approach monitored zones. At the same time, Turkish fighter aircraft are kept on immediate standby along the coast, with multiple jets ready to intercept if required. Once a contact is detected, it is held under constant watch with interception as the default outcome, not a last resort. This setup works because it leaves no time to react, as detection, tracking, and interception are no longer separate steps spread over time. They are part of the process that begins the moment an aircraft enters the monitored area, and Russian operators are aware that any flight will be seen immediately and met with a response that cannot be delayed or negotiated away. Under those conditions, probing flights stop being useful, and therefore, Russian drone and aircraft incursions into Turkey over the Black Sea have ceased entirely, with no new cases reported for more than two weeks. This reflects a decisive loss of operational space because Russia has not tried alternative routes, increased pressure elsewhere in the Black Sea, or tested Turkey’s resolve in other ways. It has backed off completely, and this is not the first time this pattern has appeared, as the most recent example came in the Atlantic, when the United States intercepted Russian oil tankers despite Moscow dispatching a submarine to shadow the operation and issuing threats to target US ships. In the end, Russia did nothing, and the boarding went ahead without interference, because when Russia is confronted with sustained military enforcement, it backs down, and when it faces warnings, protests, or limited responses, it continues to push. In this case, Turkey has successfully excluded Russian airspace, and Russian activity ceased outright. Overall, Turkey has demonstrated that control in the Black Sea is achieved through continuous enforcement, not some responses here and there. By denying access instead of responding to violations, Ankara removed Russia’s ability to probe and pressure. This outcome did not require negotiation or escalation, only persistence and readiness. It shows that when Russia is met with strength that leaves no room to maneuver, it adjusts its behavior accordingly.