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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned drone attacks on commercial vessels near Bulgaria’s coast on Tuesday, calling for those responsible to face justice.
Two ships were hit in the Black Sea off Bulgaria, sinking one and prompting emergency rescues, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.
Rescuers pulled all 15 crew from the Ukrainian-owned “Chelsea 3”, sailing under Maltese flag, with five treated for minor injuries, Radev confirmed via social media.
“The Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable,” Ms von der Leyen said on X. “Those responsible should be held accountable.”
The crew, comprising seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijan citizens, said three aerial drones struck the vessel’s deck and hull.
One person from the sunken vessel was saved, Radev added, without giving details regarding others aboard. The strikes occurred 18 and 17 miles (29 and 27.5 kilometres) from the Bulgarian coast.
During an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council on Tuesday, Radev called the attacks “absolutely unacceptable” and said Bulgaria was seeking Nato and European Union assistance.
While authorities do not possess clear evidence on who was responsible for the drone attacks, “logic, as I have already stated, indicates that the result is in favor of the Russian Federation,” Radev said.
The attacks come exactly a week after sea and aerial drones attacked two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. A Togo-flagged ship sank, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated the 18-member crew from a Pulau-flagged vessel.
Ukraine’s military did not conduct any operations near the locations of last week’s drone strikes, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who pointed the finger at Russia.
A day earlier, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued, Romanian authorities said.
Russia did not immediately comment on Tuesday’s incident.
Radev said he would summon the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, for a conversation Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Reuters.