Bulgaria asks EU and NATO for help after drone attacks

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Bulgaria asks EU and NATO for help after drone attacks.

Two cargo ships in the Black Sea attacked, one sunk, the crew missing: About a week after the drone attacks off the Bulgarian coast, Sofia is now asking the EU and NATO for technical investigative assistance.

What makes this request so delicate: The origin of the drones is so far completely open. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev speaks of an "unclear" situation – Ukraine, by contrast, holds Russia directly responsible.

According to the available reports, two cargo ships were attacked in the Black Sea, both were damaged, and one of them sank. "Der Spiegel" reports that the crew of the sunken ship has been missing since the attack. According to "Die Zeit", the attacks took place in Bulgarian waters – which explains the pressure on Sofia not to attempt clarification on its own.

Whose drones were they? – Caution from Sofia, clear blame from Kyiv

The central question – who sent the drones? – remains unanswered so far. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev is deliberately staying tight-lipped, according to dpa reports. Several agency reports state verbatim:

According to Prime Minister Rumen Radev, it is so far unclear whether the drones came from Russia or from Ukraine.

It sounds different from Kyiv. According to "Der Spiegel", Ukraine holds Russia responsible for the attack. The official Bulgarian line ("unclear") and the clear blame from Kyiv thus stand in opposition – even though both statements don't necessarily contradict each other: it is possible that Ukraine is articulating its political position, while Sofia awaits technical evidence.

What Bulgaria specifically wants from Brussels and the Alliance

Bulgaria is not handling the case alone. The country has asked the European Union and NATO for support in the investigations – as several agency reports note:

A week after drone attacks on two cargo ships in the Black Sea, Bulgaria has asked the European Union and NATO for technical help with the investigations.

What concrete steps Brussels and NATO will now take cannot be gleaned from the available reports.