Bulgaria has called in Moscow’s ambassador after drones struck two merchant vessels in its Black Sea economic zone overnight into Tuesday, sending one to the bottom and leaving 11 sailors unaccounted for. It is the second such sinking near the NATO member’s shores in seven days.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev chose his words with care. Sofia holds no firm proof of who launched the drones, he said, yet the outcome plainly favours Russia, so Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova would be invited for “a conversation”. Radev also gathered his cabinet’s security council, scheduled a call with NATO chief Mark Rutte and asked allies to help trace the attackers and to keep closer watch over the skies and waters off his coastline.
The ship that went down was the Azov Concord, a Turkish-owned freighter registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. It was hit roughly 17 nautical miles off Krapets, close to the country’s northeastern tip. Only a single sailor from that vessel was rescued alive.
Further south, the Chelsea 3 – owned by a Ukrainian company, registered in Odesa and flying Malta’s flag – raised the alarm at roughly 1:30 a.m., some way offshore from the coastal town of Byala, south of Varna. The sailors reported being hit by a trio of unmanned aircraft. Border police evacuated all 15 people aboard – Ukrainian and Azerbaijani nationals – five were treated for minor injuries, and the damaged vessel was towed into Varna.
Brussels reacted sharply: Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive, said those behind them “should be held accountable”. Kyiv’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, called the sea “a lifeline for global food security” and accused the Kremlin of turning it into a weapon.
Traffic off Bulgaria and Romania has become both busier and more dangerous as Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s ports pushes grain shipments toward the Danube and toward lanes hugging NATO coastlines. On Oct. 6 the cargo ship Alfa Watan sank in the same waters after a drone strike; none of its ten crew members has been found.
