Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador for explanations after two cargo ships were attacked by drones in the Black Sea near Bulgarian waters, causing one ship to sink and 10 people to go missing.
On Tuesday, 13 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev urgently summoned Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, following drone attacks on two cargo ships in the Black Sea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Bulgaria's coast, which resulted in one ship sinking to the seabed.
The HS Dignity, flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was attacked and sank approximately 31 kilometers offshore. Authorities rescued six crew members, but 10 remain missing.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ship Chelsea-3 was attacked by drones about 33 kilometers from Bulgaria’s coastal city of Byala. All 15 crew members were rescued, with five sustaining minor injuries.
Last week, the cargo ship Alfa Watan was also sunk by drone attacks in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. It is believed that all 10 crew members, nine of whom were Syrian, died in that incident.
The Russian ambassador stated there was no information from the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding these attacks and suggested they might be provocations by a “third party.”
However, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defense suspects Russian drones were responsible, arguing there is no reason for Ukraine to attack its own ships. Ukraine strongly condemned Russia, accusing it of deliberately undermining maritime and global food security by weaponizing hunger.
Bulgaria is a NATO member. Although the attacks occurred in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, they were very close to Bulgaria’s sovereign waters. If the attacks had occurred within territorial waters, they could trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all allies.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the alliance is monitoring the situation closely and will adjust defense and deterrence measures as appropriate.
Follow international news:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:bbc