Defence Minister Stoyanov: Escalation in the Black Sea Continues to Intensify; I Hope the Line of Reason Will Not Be Crossed

A little after 1am on October 13, a report was received from the ship that later sank off Krapets, alerting authorities to a drone attack. At 1.28am, a distress call was received from the vessel located 17 nautical miles south-east of Varna. A patrol boat responded and helped evacuate the crew.

As for the first ship, which sank, it went down extremely quickly, indicating a powerful attack involving surface drones. Six of the 16 crew members were subsequently found and rescued. The search for the remaining crew members is continuing.

The crew of the Chelsea 3 consisted of Ukrainian and Azerbaijani nationals. The vessel was sailing under the Maltese flag and was Ukrainian-owned.

This was stated by Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, who outlined the sequence of events during the second drone attack in the Black Sea.

• Watch footage from the rescue operation of the “Chelsea-3” crew (VIDEO)

Dimitar Stoyanov said he had held talks with the defence ministers of Türkiye and Romania, during which they had agreed to improve situational awareness and ensure that information was shared promptly. He added that the Black Sea had now “become a conflict zone”, making it necessary to identify additional measures.

• Following the latest drone attack, Radev met with Mitrofanova

“We have also arranged meetings with the defence ministers of all three countries. The dates are yet to be confirmed, probably by the end of October. We do not know what type of drones were used. But it makes no sense for the Ukrainians to strike their own ships. In this situation, the assumption is that the drones are Russian.”

Stoyanov said that the Navy could not escort ships, adding that escorts could be provided within Bulgaria’s territorial waters.

Dimitar Stoyanov explained that the Bulgarian Armed Forces could respond to a specific threat only within the country’s territorial waters. He added that there was no need to invoke Article 4 in the current situation.

“The escalation in the Black Sea is continuing to intensify. We can see that this conflict is moving closer to our territorial waters. I hope the line of reason will not be crossed, although I see no reason in this situation.”