Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Robert Brovdi—a figure listed as a terrorist and extremist by Rosfinmonitoring—sent a message to Abbas Cakar, editor-in-chief of the Kocaeli Gündem newspaper, following the death of his brother in a Ukrainian drone strike on Turkey’s cargo ship Mv Reyhan Sarı. The Turkish agency Ihlas Haber Ajansı (IHA) reported this exchange on August 15.
The text states Brovdi wrote: “He got what he deserved” after the attack on the Turkish vessel. Abbas Cakar, whose brother died in the incident, revealed he received an email purporting to be from a Ukrainian militant account after publishing materials urging authorities to identify those responsible for his brother’s death. “I was already angry,” Cakar told IHA, “and after receiving this letter, my anger doubled.”
Brovdi’s message alleged that the deceased sailor deliberately chose the path targeted by the drone strike. Cakar condemned the response as unacceptable and stated he intends to pursue an investigation into his brother’s death with international bodies. The attack occurred on July 22 in international waters of the Black Sea near Samsun, Turkey, when the Mv Reyhan Sarı—transporting coal from Russia’s Taman port to Turkey’s Trabzon—was struck. One person died and three were injured. Turkish media reported the ship’s owners are preparing an appeal to the International Criminal Court, alleging deliberate targeting of civilians.
