Ship sinks in new drone attack off Bulgaria, PM summons Russian ambassador
Bulgaria's prime minister says two merchant ships were hit by drones and he suspects Russia was behind the attacks.
Ship sinks in fresh drone strike off Bulgaria, PM calls in Russian ambassador
A merchant vessel has sunk after drones struck two ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.
He said Russia was suspected of carrying out the attacks and that he had summoned its ambassador.
One of the ships went down 17 nautical miles (31km) east of Krapets, and one crew member was rescued, he said. The other vessel, owned by Ukraine, was hit by three drones 18 nautical miles from the town of Byala, and all 15 crew members were saved, he added.
The drone strikes came a week after two other commercial ships were hit by sea and aerial drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. One of those ships, the Alfa Watan, sank and all 10 crew, including nine Syrians, are presumed dead.
Radev held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and said he had summoned Russian envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova. He said there was no conclusive evidence of blame on “either side... the logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation”.
Bulgaria is a Nato member, and the prime minister said he would soon speak to secretary general Mark Rutte. Radev had earlier asked Nato and the EU for technical help in investigating the 6 October attacks, saying it was unclear whether Russia and Ukraine were behind them.
Radev took office during the summer and has since dismissed claims that he is “pro-Russian”.
Ukraine has directly blamed Russia for the latest attacks, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the Black Sea was becoming “another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable”.
Russia’s military has not publicly commented on the matter. It has recently stepped up strikes on vessels in the Black Sea, especially on the western side, as part of its war against Ukraine.
On the same day that two ships were targeted off Bulgaria last week, Ukraine struck an oil tanker in the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi.
Moscow says it is targeting ships carrying weapons and dual-use cargo to Ukrainian ports, and pointed to attacks in the ports of Mykolaiv and Chornomorsk last week, as well as one in the Black Sea.
However, Kyiv and its European allies say merchant ships transporting grain and other civilian cargo are being attacked.
Rumen Radev called the attack “absolutely unacceptable”.
After meeting his security chiefs on Tuesday, Bulgaria’s prime minister said: “Another attack on merchant ships in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters is absolutely unacceptable”.
Radev identified one of the vessels hit as the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, registered in Ukraine’s Odesa, saying five crew members were being treated for minor injuries. He gave no further details about the vessel that sank.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: “Russia’s latest attack on commercial vessels near Bulgaria’s territorial waters... once again demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives and maritime security in the Black Sea.
“The Black Sea is a lifeline for global food security. Russia is attacking it to weaponise hunger and hold the world hostage. This must be met with strength,” he added.
Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters, and Turkey has called on both countries to stop attacks in the Black Sea.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected US and European calls for a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, blaming Ukraine for attacking Russian merchant ships in the area.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.