A ship sank off the coast of Bulgaria following a drone attack: 11 sailors are missing
Bulgarian officials reported that two cargo ships were attacked with drones. The Russian ambassador was summoned for comment.
Two cargo ships were attacked by drones near the coast of Bulgaria. One of them sank, and its 11 crew members are missing. Following the incidents, Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador for an explanation.
According to Bulgarian officials, the attacks occurred on the night of Tuesday. The ship named HS Dignity, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, sank off the coast of the village of Krapets near the Romanian border. Five of its crew members were rescued, and 11 more are missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
The ship Chelsea-3, sailing under the flag of Malta, was also struck by three drones. All seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani sailors in its crew were rescued. None of them were seriously injured.
Bulgaria did not officially confirm that Russia carried out the attacks. However, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the consequences of the incidents serve Russian interests. The Russian side has not yet commented on the events.
“This is an absolutely unacceptable situation — another attack was carried out in direct proximity to Bulgaria's territorial waters,” Radev said in a televised address.
He also spoke by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, requesting assistance in strengthening Bulgaria's capabilities to monitor its maritime areas and airspace. Rutte stated that NATO's military presence on its eastern flank would be adapted as necessary.
The European Union and Ukraine also condemned the attacks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha emphasized that the strike once again demonstrated Moscow's disregard for the lives of civilians. The European Commission President stated that those responsible for the incident must be held accountable.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov discussed the security situation in the Black Sea region with his counterparts in Romania and Turkey.
Earlier, a ship that came under a drone attack in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea sank, and nine Syrian and one Egyptian sailor were killed. Another ship was attacked that same night, but its crew was rescued.
Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, said she had not received information from the Russian Ministry of Defense about the attacks on commercial ships. At the same time, she did not rule out the possibility that the incidents could be a provocation staged by a third party.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, maritime shipping in the Black Sea has become one of the key fronts of the war. Russia has been striking Ukrainian ports, while Ukraine has been targeting ships serving Russia's grain exports in the Black and Azov Seas. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest grain exporters.
