The key facts

  • Drones attacked two cargo ships off the Bulgarian coast; HS Dignity sank, 11 crew members are missing, five were rescued
  • The crew of the ship Chelsea-3 (15 people — Ukrainians and Azerbaijanis) was rescued without serious injuries
  • Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador; Radev said the consequences of the attacks serve Russia's interests, Moscow did not comment on the incident

Attacks on two ships off the Bulgarian coast

According to Bulgarian officials, overnight into Tuesday, drones attacked two cargo ships near the Bulgarian coast. The ship HS Dignity, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, sank off the coast of the village of Krapets near the Romanian border. Five members of its crew were rescued, and another 11 are missing — search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Second ship: crew rescued

The second ship, Chelsea-3 under the flag of Malta, was hit by three drones. All seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani sailors from its crew were rescued; no one sustained serious injuries.

Bulgaria's reaction and international contacts

Bulgaria has not officially confirmed Russia's involvement in the attacks, but Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the consequences of the incidents serve Russia's interests. "This is an absolutely unacceptable situation — another attack was carried out in close proximity to Bulgaria's territorial waters," he said in a televised address. After the incidents, Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador for explanations. Radev held telephone conversations with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asking for help in strengthening Bulgaria's capabilities for monitoring maritime territories and airspace. Rutte said NATO's military presence on the eastern flank would be adapted as necessary. Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov discussed the situation in the Black Sea region with counterparts from Romania and Turkey.

Reaction of the EU, Ukraine and Russia

The European Union and Ukraine condemned the attacks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that the strike once again demonstrated Moscow's disregard for the lives of civilians. Von der Leyen said those responsible must be held accountable. Russia's Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova said she had not received information from the Russian Defense Ministry about attacks on commercial ships, and did not rule out that the incidents could be a provocation organized by a third party. The Russian side has not officially commented on what happened.

Context: a previous incident and the Black Sea in the war

Earlier, a ship sank in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea after a drone attack; nine Syrian and one Egyptian sailor were killed. Another ship was attacked the same night, and its crew was rescued. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, maritime shipping in the Black Sea has become one of the important fronts of the war: Russia strikes Ukrainian ports, while Ukraine targets Russian ships servicing grain exports in the Black and Azov Seas. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest grain exporters.