The two ships hit on Tuesday were the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo vessel Dignity and the Chelsea-3, a Ukrainian-owned ship registered in Odesa and sailing under the Maltese flag.
Rescue teams are still searching for 11 crew members missing after Tuesday’s strikes, while five sailors have been rescued. However, it admitted it had no proof of Moscow’s involvement. Bulgaria on Wednesday said Russia was likely behind a series of drone attacks on four commercial ships in the Black Sea, which sank two vessels over the past week.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Parliament that the attacks appeared to benefit Russia, as one of the vessels was Ukrainian-owned. The problem is that we cannot prove it,” Radev said. Four sailors, three Syrian nationals and one Egyptian, were rescued and brought to the port of Varna, district governor Mario Smarkov said. Radev said the country was suffering significant economic and financial damage from the incidents. The ambassador said she had no information from Russia’s defence ministry about the incidents but did not rule out the possibility that “these attacks represent a provocation by a third party. European council president Antonio Costa expressed solidarity with Bulgaria and said the growing number of Russian hybrid activities would be discussed at the European Council meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
The strikes targeted ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and nearby waters, raising concerns about the safety of commercial shipping in the region. “There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favours Russia — and indeed, the logic points in that direction. The Dignity sank after being hit by a military strike. Sofia is also seeking to coordinate with neighbouring Romania and Turkey on measures to protect shipping in the Black Sea. Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Black Sea and a moratorium on drone attacks against commercial and civilian infrastructure.
On Tuesday, Radev summoned the Russian ambassador to Sofia over the attacks.