Sailors missing after fresh attacks on Black Sea vessels, Bulgaria says

What the report says

Bulgarian officials say a merchant ship has sunk after a drone attack in the Black Sea, with the crew still missing, while a second grain-carrying vessel was struck in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and its 18 crew members were rescued. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the attacks happened around 03:00 local time, roughly 70 miles off the coast near Byala in eastern Bulgaria, and involved both air and sea drones.

Radev said it was not clear who carried out the strikes. He condemned the incident as a serious breach of maritime law and said an attack in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone was unacceptable. According to the BBC report, Moscow had not commented on the latest episode, which comes amid a period of intensified Russian attacks in the Black Sea linked to the wider war in Ukraine.

The sunken ship was flying under the flag of Togo, and Bulgarian authorities said a search operation was underway. The crew size was not immediately known. On the second vessel, Bulgarian sailors rescued 18 crew members, including two who were injured in a fire on board; 11 were Turkish nationals and seven were Indian nationals. The BBC also noted a separate attack near Odesa earlier in the week, underscoring the growing risks to commercial shipping in the region.