General cargo vessel ABLE, one of the two vessels attacked in drone strikes in the Black Sea off NATO member Bulgaria, according to a Oct 6, 2026 statement by Bulgarian PM Radev, sails in Istanbul, Turkey, Sept 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. Marine Traffic/Handout via REUTERS
Eleven sailors were missing at sea on Tuesday after a drone attack sank a cargo ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, prompting Sofia to summon Russia’s ambassador amid concerns over a second potentially deadly sinking in the area within a week.
Two cargo ships were hit by drones overnight and one sank, Bulgarian officials said. Bulgaria stopped short of directly accusing Russia of carrying out the attacks, but Prime Minister Rumen Radev said their outcome “benefits the Russian Federation”.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the incidents.
“This is absolutely unacceptable — another attack in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters,” Radev said in a televised address.
The attacks were also condemned by Ukraine and the European Union.
“The Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X. “Those responsible should be held accountable.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strike “once again demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives”.
“The Black Sea is a lifeline for global food security. Russia is attacking it to weaponise hunger and hold the world hostage,” he said.
Radev urged von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to support efforts to strengthen Bulgaria’s maritime and airspace surveillance during a telephone call on Tuesday, the Bulgarian government said.
Rutte said NATO would continue to adjust its military presence on its eastern flank “as needed”.
Black Sea Shipping Drawn into War
Five crew members were rescued from the ship that sank near the coastal village of Krapets, while 11 remained missing, Bulgarian officials said. President Iliana Iotova identified the vessel as the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship HS Dignity and said search and rescue operations were continuing.
Another vessel, the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, was hit by three drones overnight. All 15 crew members — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — were rescued, and none was seriously injured, Bulgarian officials said.
A week ago, nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian were lost at sea when a ship sank after being hit by drones in Bulgaria’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone. Another vessel was also struck that night, but its crew was rescued.
After meeting Radev in Sofia, Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova said she had received no information from Russia’s Defence Ministry about attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. She did not rule out the possibility that the incidents were a provocation by a third party, the Bulgarian government said.
More than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Black Sea shipping has increasingly become part of a prolonged battle of economic endurance.
Ukraine and Russia are both among the world’s largest grain exporters.
Russia has been bombing Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, forcing Kyiv to rely increasingly on river ports along the Danube and shipping routes close to the coasts of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has increasingly targeted Russian grain-exporting ships in other parts of the Black Sea and in the Sea of Azov, near the mouth of the Don River.