Bulgaria has no evidence that ships in the Black Sea were attacked by Russian drones

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev says there is insufficient evidence that Russian drones attacked ships in the Black Sea. Sofia plans to examine one of the attacked ships for possible drone debris.

He said this before the start of the European Council summit in Brussels, reports a Babel correspondent.

"It is logical to assume that Russia is carrying out the attacks, because Ukraine could not attack its own ships and its own crews. Moreover, the results of these attacks are beneficial to Russia. But we do not have convincing evidence," Radev said.

He added that Bulgaria does not yet know where the drones came from or who they belonged to. Specially trained military personnel have already inspected one of the attacked vessels, but have found no trace of the drones.

According to the Prime Minister, the Chelsea 3 ship is to be towed to the port of Burgas in the afternoon. There, experts will carefully examine it and search for drone debris that will help identify the perpetrators. Radev also said that he would ask German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to provide evidence if Berlin has information about the origin of the drones.

"We do not base our accusations on hypotheses. When we accuse a certain state, we want to have solid and clear evidence," the Bulgarian Prime Minister emphasized.

He added that he had summoned the Russian ambassador to discuss stopping the attacks on ships in the Black Sea. However, he noted that Bulgaria maintains diplomatic relations with Russia, wants to expand diplomatic dialogue and move on to concrete steps.

Separately, Radev commented on the US decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel fuel. He welcomed any steps that would help lower fuel prices and support Europeʼs competitiveness.

“Do you know what our problem is in Europe right now? High fuel prices,” said the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

• On the morning of October 6, drones attacked two merchant ships flying the flag of Palau east of Cape St. Athanasius and the city of Byala. One ship sank. Two sailors were injured.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that this was a combined attack by Russian naval and air drones, and that the Ukrainian Defense Forces were not conducting any operations off the coast of Bulgaria at the time of the attack.
• A week later, on October 13, unknown drones again attacked two vessels off the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, sinking one of them. Five people suffered minor injuries. In particular, there were seven Ukrainians on board the “Chelsea 3”.

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