The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has condemned the "unacceptable" drone attack against several ships near the territorial waters of Bulgaria, also warning that the Black Sea has become a new "front" in Russia's war against Ukraine.
"The Black Sea has become another escalation front of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable," the community leader pointed out in a message shared on social media after the incident was reported early in the morning.
In this context, the head of the community executive has assured that she "strongly condemns the attacks" against merchant ships near the Bulgarian coast and has denounced that these actions 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," Von der Leyen emphasized, expressing her support for the Bulgarian authorities.
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, announced this Tuesday the rescue of the 15 crew members of a merchant ship attacked by drones in the Black Sea, near the limit of Bulgarian territorial waters, as well as the sinking of a second ship after a similar attack in the same area.
In reaction to this escalation, the Bulgarian government has summoned the Russian ambassador in Sofia for consultations and has requested support from NATO and the European Union.
The first attack took place early in the 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 testimony, the ship was hit by three aerial drones on the deck and hull.
An urgent unit of the Bulgarian Border Police managed to evacuate all occupants, seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijanis. The attacked ship is the 'Chelsea 3', registered in Malta, owned by Ukrainians, and registered in Odesa.
During an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of the Council of Ministers, the authorities were also informed of the impact against a second ship located 17 miles (about 27 kilometers) east of Krapets. According to the data provided by the executive, this ship has sunk and, for now, only one crew member has been rescued.
Given the seriousness of the situation, Sofía has urgently communicated the attacks to her permanent representatives to the EU and NATO. In addition, the prime minister has indicated that he has a conversation planned with the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte.