The crew of a merchant ship was missing on Tuesday after the vessel sank in the Black Sea off NATO member Bulgaria following a drone strike that Prime Minister Rumen Radev described as a gross violation of international law.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack by air and sea drones about 70 miles (112 km) off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria, but there are growing concerns about hybrid attacks by Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.
According to Reuters news agency, shipping sources said it appeared to be the first such attack in the waters of Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
Radev said it was unclear whether the drones came from Russia or from Ukraine, the BTA news agency reported.
Bulgaria does not border either country but it holds a strategic position in the Black Sea, where both Ukraine and Russia have major ports.
Ukraine’s foreign minister blamed Russia for the attack. Moscow has made no comment on the incident.
Two ships were hit in the attack, Radev said in a televised statement. The crew of one, which was carrying grain, was rescued, with two injured. The other, which sank, was a Togo-flagged ship whose cargo was not disclosed. It is unclear how many people were on board.
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