Two Ships Attacked in Bulgarian Waters of the Black Sea: Zelensky Blames Russia, Sofia Doesn't Know Whose Drones They Were

At three in the morning, about 130 kilometres off the Bulgarian coast, in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, two civilian cargo ships were hit. One, the Togo-flagged Alfa Vatan, sank quickly. Of its crew, Bulgarian rescuers found only an overturned boat, three empty life rafts and life jackets. Of the sailors - not a trace.

The second ship, the Palau-flagged Able, was carrying wheat south when a large fire broke out after the strike. All 18 crew members, mostly Turkish and Indian nationals, abandoned ship and were picked up by the Bulgarian ro-ro vessel Dioskuria. Two sailors with burns and head injuries were rushed to the Military Medical Academy in Varna.

Two versions, neither confirmed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says it's clear-cut: the Ukrainian navy contacted its Bulgarian counterparts, and it has been established beyond dispute that this was a combined Russian attack with naval and aerial drones. Kyiv, he says, had no operations in that part of the sea. "This is a continuation of Russia's escalation strategy - a day earlier a ship was hit in Romanian waters, their drones keep entering Moldova, and the attacks on our ports don't stop," Zelensky said.

Sofia is far more cautious. Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said the country cannot yet confirm with certainty whose drones struck - Russian or Ukrainian - until wreckage is found or one of the sides officially claims responsibility. One thing he did say without hesitation: this was no accident but a targeted attack, and Bulgaria has become part of the "hybrid war between Ukraine and Russia".

One of the rescued Turkish sailors, after arriving in Varna, said the explosion came from under the water and that he immediately suspected the Russians, because the ship was carrying Ukrainian cargo. That's the impression of a man who survived, not a finding of the investigation. But it shows how quickly a civilian ship becomes a target - just because of what's in its hold.

In the waters of a NATO member, and nobody knows who struck

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the incident a gross violation of international law and warned that the spread of the conflict in the Black Sea basin is making commercial shipping harder and pushing up insurance costs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also voiced concern - the attack happened in the economic zone of a NATO member state.

The picture is familiar: each side has its own story, and a sea that used to be a trade route is now a zone where a cargo ship can vanish in a single night. If Bulgaria, a member of both NATO and the EU, can't say who attacked ships in its own backyard, who will answer for the missing crew? And how much closer does the war have to come to the Balkan coast before it stops being seen as someone else's?