Symbolic imageDrones sink cargo ship in Bulgaria's Black Sea zone as attacks on shipping widen
Drones sank a merchant ship in Bulgaria's Black Sea economic zone on Tuesday. A tanker burned off Sochi the same day.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said sea and aerial drones hit two merchant ships at about 3am on Tuesday, 6 October, in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank, and Bulgaria launched a search with no word on its crew. The Palau-flagged Able caught fire, and a Bulgarian ferry and a naval boat evacuated all 18 crew, two of them seriously injured. Radev called the attack a blatant violation of international law.
Who is blamed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine ran no operations in Bulgarian waters and that a check with Bulgaria showed a combined Russian sea and air drone attack. A source told Reuters a preliminary assessment also points to Russia, while Radev said the origin was not yet established.
Tanker burns off Sochi
Later on Tuesday a tanker burned off Sochi. Mash and Astra identified it as the Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio, carrying oil from Novorossiysk to India; the cause is unknown, though one local page suggested naval drones. The Sirius territory closed its beaches.
Bulgaria convenes security council
President Iliana Yotova called the national security advisory council for Wednesday at 1pm, and Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova described the strike as a dangerous escalation.
Other opinions
TASS, citing maritime.bg, speaks only of unidentified drones and names no culprit.