Bulgaria has requested technical support from the European Union and NATO on Monday to advance in the investigation of the drone attacks carried out last Tuesday against two merchant ships in its exclusive economic zone of the Black Sea, one of which ended up sunk.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister, Rumen Radev, has emphasized the importance of having the backing of his partners and has demanded that the matter be addressed urgently in letters sent to the President of the European Council, António Costa; to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and to the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, according to the public broadcaster BNT.
Radev has requested the cooperation of the European Maritime Safety Agency after Bulgarian authorities have not managed to find drone debris that would allow determining its origin, despite highlighting the measures taken by Sofia both during the search and rescue operation and in the development of the investigations regarding the attack.
Furthermore, the head of the Bulgarian Government intends to count on the support of his allies in NATO and the European Commission and its agencies to analyze all available physical evidence, satellite data, and the entirety of the information collected in relation to what happened.
The leader has strongly condemned the military attacks against commercial navigation and civilian crews, and has reiterated his determination to identify the perpetrators. He has also stated that, once the responsibility for the attack is established, Sofia is willing to undertake all diplomatic and legal actions at its disposal against those responsible, in line with International Law.
The ships attacked last Tuesday were the "Able," flying the flag of Palau, and the "Alfa Watan," with the flag of Togo, which suffered structural damage that caused its sinking about 70 miles (about 130 kilometers) from the coast and the disappearance of all the crew members on board.
In contrast, the 18 crew members of the "Able," which registered a fire after the impact, managed to abandon the ship and were assisted by a Bulgarian ferry that diverted its route to come to their aid.
Both ships were hit around 4:00 a.m. (local time) in an area located east of Cape San Atanasio and the city of Byala, an episode that led the Prime Minister of Bulgaria to immediately convene an emergency meeting to analyze the situation.