KIEV -- Ukrainian coast guard ships opened fire on five Turkish fishing boats in the Black Sea, sinking one and killing a fisherman, the head of Ukraine's border guards said Wednesday.
Pavlo Shysholin told state television the Turkish vessels had been poaching fish in Ukraine's territorial waters. He did not provide details of when or where the incident had occurred. Two of the fishing boats were seized and a second fisherman was wounded, he said.
"The Turkish ships ... maneuvered dangerously, threatening our border guard ships. Therefore arms had to be used to deter [them]," Shysholin said.
In Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it was seeking information about the incident. "We have instructed our Kiev ambassador to investigate. If there are deaths then of course this is a sad event, but first we have to understand what happened," a ministry spokesman said.
The Ukrainian TV commentator said the border guards asked Turkey to "treat the incident with understanding."
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