Drones sink one ship off Bulgaria, leave 11 missing; PM summons Russian envoy

Drones struck two commercial ships in Bulgaria’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone early on 13 October. One vessel sank; eleven crew members remain missing. Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned the Russian ambassador and said the logic of the attacks points to an outcome that benefits the Russian Federation.

The Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity sank roughly 17 nautical miles east of the village of Krapets, near the Romanian border. Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said six of its crew were rescued and ten to eleven others are still unaccounted for. The second ship, the Maltese-flagged Chelsea-3, registered in Ukraine and owned by a Ukrainian company, was hit by three drones about 18 nautical miles off Byala. All fifteen crew—seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis—were rescued. Five received treatment for minor injuries. A sailor from Chelsea-3 told authorities the drone appeared Russian.

The strikes occurred closer to the Bulgarian coast than an earlier attack on 6 October that sank the Alfa Watan and left its ten crew missing. Radev called the latest incidents absolutely unacceptable and convened the Security Council. He scheduled talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and asked for assistance. Defence Minister Stoyanov spoke with counterparts in Romania and Turkey and said Bulgaria will deploy additional unmanned systems and strengthen monitoring.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attacks as further evidence of disregard for civilian lives and maritime security. Bulgarian officials have not produced conclusive forensic attribution, but Radev stated that while evidence does not yet assign blame to either side, the outcome favours Russia. Search operations for the missing sailors from HS Dignity continued on Tuesday.

The incidents extend the pattern of drone strikes on commercial shipping from the main theatre of the Russia-Ukraine war into the exclusive economic zones of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria. They raise insurance costs for Black Sea routes and complicate any residual energy-related traffic. For Bulgaria the immediate tasks are the rescue operation, the diplomatic summons, and the decision on how far to increase naval and aerial surveillance of its coastal waters.

Place: Sofia / Black Sea. Date: 13 October 2026.