The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, have denounced the "unacceptable" drone attack against several ships in the vicinity of Bulgaria's territorial waters, also warning of the increase in incidents in the Black Sea in recent weeks.
"The Black Sea has become another front of escalation in the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable," reacted the German leader in a message on social media after the attack was reported early this morning.
The head of the community executive stated that she "strongly condemns the attacks" directed against merchant ships near the Bulgarian coast and lamented that these events have put "the lives of the crew in serious danger and threatened security in the Black Sea."
"We stand with Bulgaria and thank its rescuers for their swift response. Those responsible must be held accountable," emphasized Von der Leyen.
In similar terms, the President of the European Council, António Costa, expressed the "full solidarity" of the European Union with Bulgaria following the attacks that occurred last night off its coast in another message on social media.
"The attacks against civilian maritime transport and merchant ships in the Black Sea are escalating. They are totally unacceptable. The European Council will address the situation and the intensification of Russia's hybrid campaigns at its meeting later this week," he noted.
Bulgaria requests help from NATO and the EU
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, communicated this Tuesday the rescue of the 15 crew members of a commercial ship hit by drones in the Black Sea, in the vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters, as well as the sinking of a second ship after a similar attack in the same area.
In light of this escalation, the Bulgarian government has summoned the Russian ambassador in Sofia and has requested assistance from NATO and the European Union.
The first attack occurred in the early morning when the Varna Maritime Rescue Center received a distress signal at 01:30 hours (local time) from a ship located 18 miles (about 29 kilometers) east of the town of Byala. According to the crew's account, the ship was hit by three aerial drones on the deck and the hull.
A patrol of the Bulgarian Border Police sent urgently managed to evacuate all crew members, seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijanis. The affected vessel is the "Chelsea 3", owned by Ukraine, registered in Odesa and sailing under the Maltese flag.
In an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of the Council of Ministers, Bulgarian authorities have also received information about the impact against a second vessel, located 17 miles (about 27 kilometers) east of Krapets. According to the data provided by the Government, this second ship has sunk and, for now, only one crew member has been rescued.
Given the seriousness of what happened, Sofia has urgently informed its permanent representatives to the EU and NATO about the attacks. The Prime Minister has added that he plans to have a conversation with the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte.