Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev has said that a merchant ship sank after drones struck two vessels off the country’s Black Sea coast. He indicated that Russia was suspected of carrying out the attacks, and said he had called in Russia’s ambassador in response.
Radev said one of the ships went down 17 nautical miles (31km) east of Krapets, and that one crew member had been rescued. The second vessel, which is Ukrainian-owned, was hit by three drones 18 nautical miles from the town of Byala, and all 15 people on board were brought to safety.
Earlier drone strikes near Bulgarian waters
The latest incidents followed an attack a week earlier, when two other commercial ships were struck by sea and aerial drones inside Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. One of those vessels, the Alfa Watan, sank, and all 10 crew members on board are presumed dead, including nine Syrian nationals.
The same day those two ships were targeted, Ukraine struck an oil tanker at the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi, according to the reports. Radev had already asked Nato and the European Union for technical help in investigating the attacks of 6 October, saying it remained unclear whether Russia or Ukraine was responsible.
Radev’s emergency meeting and Nato contact
Radev convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday and summoned Russian envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova. He acknowledged there was no conclusive evidence pointing to either side, but argued that the situation logically favoured the Russian Federation.
Bulgaria is a Nato member, and Radev said he would speak shortly with the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte. Radev, who took office during the summer, has rejected suggestions that he is pro-Russian.
At a meeting with his security chiefs, Radev described the latest incident as absolutely unacceptable, warning that another attack on merchant ships so close to Bulgarian territorial waters was a serious matter. He identified one of the stricken vessels as the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, which is registered in Ukraine’s Odesa, and said five of its crew were being treated for minor injuries. He gave no further details about the ship that sank.
Competing accounts of Black Sea shipping attacks
Ukraine has directly blamed Russia for the latest attacks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Moscow’s strike showed a deliberate disregard for civilian lives and for maritime security, and he said the Black Sea was vital to global food supplies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the sea was becoming another front in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which she described as unacceptable.
Russia’s military has not publicly commented on the incidents. Moscow has said it is targeting ships that deliver weapons and dual-use cargo to Ukrainian ports, and it pointed to attacks on the ports of Mykolaiv and Chornomorsk last week, as well as another incident in the Black Sea. Kyiv and its European allies, however, say merchant vessels carrying grain and other civilian cargo are the ones being hit.
Turkey has urged both countries to halt attacks in the Black Sea, and both are major grain exporters. Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls from the United States and Europe for a naval ceasefire, blaming Ukraine for attacks on 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.
