Drones struck two ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, the country’s prime minister said on Tuesday, in the latest in a string of attacks near NATO’s territorial waters that have frayed nerves in the region.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev of Bulgaria acknowledged that it was not clear who had launched the drones, but said in a statement that “logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation” and that he had summoned Moscow’s ambassador to seek an explanation.
The uptick in drone strikes on the Black Sea, including attacks on ships in Romanian waters, comes as Russia steps up threats to NATO’s eastern flank and seeks to sow division among Ukraine’s allies.
“The Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. “This is unacceptable.”
One of the ships attacked off Bulgaria’s coast sank, Mr. Radev said. Five people were rescued from its crew of 18, according to Lyubomir Nikolov, the Bulgarian interior ministry’s chief secretary. He did not provide details on the whereabouts of the other 13 crew members.
Mr. Radev said that the other vessel was “in the immediate vicinity of Bulgaria’s territorial waters” when it was struck by three aerial drones. The ship, known as the Chelsea 3, was sailing under Malta’s flag but registered in Odesa, a major port city in Ukraine. Its crew of seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis were rescued and taken to a Bulgarian port, Mr. Radev said, where five received medical treatment.
The strikes are under investigation and “we do not have clear and conclusive evidence to attribute responsibility,” Mr. Radev said. However, he summoned Russia’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, for a meeting on Tuesday that lasted less than an hour.
A readout of the meeting, released by the Bulgarian government, cited Ms. Mitrofanova as saying she did not have any information from Russia’s defense ministry about the recent spate of drone strikes in the Black Sea. She suggested that a third party might have been involved, and Mr. Radev told her that “there is no logic for Ukraine to destroy its own ships,” according to the readout.
Russia has not commented on the strikes off the Bulgarian or Romanian coasts.
Mr. Radev said he would ask allies to help with Bulgaria’s air and sea surveillance, as well as its response to future threats. NATO officials are already on alert; warnings were recently issued to commercial shippers transiting the Black Sea.
Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, said that the military alliance would respond as needed with deterrence and defense measures.
“We have already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank, and will continue to monitor the security environment,” Mr. Rutte said in a statement on Tuesday.
Boryana Dzhambazova contributed reporting from Sofia, Bulgaria.
The post Bulgaria Summons Russia’s Ambassador After More Drone Strikes in Black Sea appeared first on New York Times.
