Drones launched attacks on two vessels in the Black Sea near Bulgaria, causing one ship to sink and prompting urgent rescue operations, announced Prime Minister Rumen Radev. The crew of the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, consisting of 15 members, were safely evacuated with five individuals receiving treatment for minor injuries. The crew reported that three drones hit the ship’s deck and hull.
One crew member from the sunken vessel was rescued, while further details about the remaining crew were not disclosed. The incidents took place at distances of 29 and 27.5 kilometers from the Bulgarian coast. During an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council, Radev condemned the attacks as “absolutely unacceptable” and requested assistance from NATO and the European Union.
Although authorities lack definitive evidence regarding the perpetrators of the drone strikes, Radev suggested that the Russian Federation may be involved based on logical reasoning. These attacks occurred a week after similar incidents where two commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone were targeted by sea and aerial drones. Following those events, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed blame to Russia, clarifying that Ukrainian military operations were not conducted in the vicinity of the attacks.
In a separate incident, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire and subsequently sank in the Black Sea near Romania after a drone attack. This incident resulted in two fatalities, with 11 crew members being rescued. Russian officials have not yet commented on Tuesday’s attacks. Radev announced plans to hold discussions with the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, regarding the situation.
