What changed
A merchant ship sank after drones struck two vessels off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast on 13 October. One crew member was rescued from the sunken vessel; aboard the Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3, all 15 crew survived, though five suffered minor injuries.
The attacks happened 17 and 18 nautical miles from Bulgaria’s coast. Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned Russia’s ambassador and requested technical help from NATO and the European Union. Ukraine blamed Russia, while Russia has not publicly commented on the latest incident.
Why it matters
This is no longer a single strike near a war zone. It is a second reported attack on commercial shipping inside Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in one week, and another vessel has now gone down.
That puts Bulgaria in a difficult position. The country is a NATO member, but Radev said there was no conclusive evidence identifying the attacker. He argued that the outcome appeared to benefit Russia, while Russia’s ambassador said she had no information from Moscow’s defence ministry and suggested a third party might have staged the attacks.
The immediate question is whether commercial ships can continue moving through this part of the Black Sea without becoming targets. Russia says it is targeting vessels carrying weapons or dual-use cargo to Ukrainian ports. Ukraine and its European allies say civilian merchant ships carrying grain and other cargo are being attacked. With the identity and casualty toll of the sunken vessel still unclear, the next investigations will matter not only for assigning blame but for determining how seriously shipping operators and NATO treat the waters near Bulgaria.
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