This information was spread by the Turkish newspaper Aydınlık, which belongs to the pro-Russian Vatan party. The pro-Kremlin media widely spread this lie. They said that Ukraine does not release foreign ships from ports to prevent an attack on Odesa. "If the Russians launch an operation in Odesa and strike at Turkish ships, it is believed that tensions will arise in Turkish-Russian relations," the newspaper said.

The International Chamber of Navigation reported that as of May 5, at least 40 foreign civilian ships remained in the ports of the Odessa region. They are at anchor due to the blocking of shipping by Russia, according to the site "Suspilne. Media". Andriy Klymenko, project manager at the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Russia had previously mined the sea routes from the Bosphorus to Odesa. However, they said it was Ukrainian mines.