The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, communicated this Tuesday the rescue of the 15 sailors from a merchant ship hit by drones in the Black Sea, very close to the territorial waters of the country, and confirmed the sinking of a second vessel after a similar attack in the same area. In response to this escalation, the Bulgarian Executive has summoned the Russian ambassador in Sofia for consultations and has requested support from NATO and the European Union.
The first incident took place in the early morning, when the Maritime Rescue Center of Varna received an emergency call at 01:30 hours (local time) from a ship sailing 18 miles — about 29 kilometers — east of the Bulgarian town of Byala. According to the testimony of the sailors, the ship was hit on the deck and hull by the impact of three aerial drones.
A unit of the Bulgarian Border Police sent immediately to the area managed to rescue the 15 crew members, seven of Ukrainian nationality and eight Azerbaijani. The attacked ship is the "Chelsea 3", owned by a Ukrainian, registered in Odesa and operating under a Maltese flag. The rescued were taken to the port of Varna and five of them are being treated for minor injuries.
"This latest attack against commercial vessels in the vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters is absolutely unacceptable," the head of Government stated on his social media. He admitted that the authorities still do not have "solid and clear evidence" to officially hold any specific actor accountable, although he pointed out that "logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation," which is why he has summoned the Russian ambassador, Eleonora Mitrofánova, for this Tuesday.
In an extraordinary session of the Security Council of the Council of Ministers, the Government was also informed of a second impact against another vessel, located 17 miles — about 27 kilometers — east of Krapets. According to official data, this ship has sunk and, for now, only one member of the crew has been successfully rescued alive from the water.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the authorities in Sofia have urgently communicated the attacks to their permanent representatives to the EU and NATO. Radev added that he has a conversation planned with the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte.