Drones struck three cargo ships in the Black Sea between October 5 and October 6, sinking two vessels and damaging a third in NATO member exclusive economic zones for the first time during the Ukraine conflict. The attacks killed at least two sailors, with one crew member missing.
The Turkish-owned Royad Mammadov caught fire and sank after being attacked on October 5 within Romania's exclusive economic zone. Eleven crew members were rescued; two were killed and one remains missing. The vessel had been carrying corn from a Ukrainian port.
On October 6, drones attacked two ships off Bulgaria's coast approximately 80 miles offshore. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank; the Palau-flagged Able caught fire. A Bulgarian ferry evacuated all 18 crew members of the Able, with two severely injured. The fate of the Alfa Watan's crew was not immediately known. The Able had been carrying wheat.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the attacks "an unacceptable attack in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone" and "a blatant violation of international law and maritime law."
EU President Ursula von der Leyen described the strikes as "increasingly concerning" on social media but cautioned that circumstances "are still being established" without naming a probable attacker. She stated that "attacks on civilian shipping are unacceptable" and expressed solidarity with NATO members on the Eastern flank.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a joint investigation with Bulgaria's navy found the strikes represented "a Russian combined attack using both sea and aerial drones." Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine's military was not conducting operations in that part of the Black Sea. He condemned what he called "horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters" and called for pressure to restore global food security.
Russian embassy officials have denied involvement in the drone strikes and other incidents attributed to Russian hybrid warfare or gray-zone tactics across Europe, according to the source material.
The escalation follows months of attacks on Black Sea commercial shipping during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has deployed aerial drones and drone boats against Russian naval assets, while Russia has increasingly used drones to attack Ukrainian ships, ports and international commercial vessels.