On Tuesday, drones targeted two maritime vessels in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria, resulting in the sinking of one ship and necessitating emergency rescue efforts, as reported by Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Maltese-flagged ship, Chelsea 3, and five received treatment for minor injuries. The crew included seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijani citizens, who reported that three aerial drones struck the ship’s deck and hull. Rescuers saved one crew member from the sunken vessel; however, they did not provide additional details about the remaining individuals on board.
The drone strikes occurred approximately 29 and 27.5 kilometres from the Bulgarian coastline. During an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council, Prime Minister Radev characterised the attacks as “absolutely unacceptable,” emphasising that Bulgaria is seeking assistance from NATO and the European Union.
While there is currently no definitive evidence regarding those responsible for the drone attacks, Radev indicated that logical reasoning suggests the outcome may favour the Russian Federation.
These incidents follow closely behind a recent attack, one week earlier, in which sea and aerial drones targeted two other commercial vessels within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. During that event, a Togo-flagged ship sank, while a Bulgarian ferry managed to evacuate the crew of 18 from a Pulau-flagged vessel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed that Ukraine’s military did not conduct operations near the sites of last week’s drone strikes and attributed responsibility to Russia.
In an associated event, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and subsequently sank off the coast of Romania, resulting in two fatalities and the rescue of 11 crew members, as reported by Romanian authorities. Russia has not yet commented on the situation since Tuesday. Prime Minister Radev mentioned plans to summon Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, for a discussion on the matter.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
