“In just 48 hours, the Black Sea has become a battlefield for civilian ships. Russia is no longer just scaring, but directly attacking commercial vessels in order to paralyze the region and raise insurance risks to the sky“. Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov commented on social networks after ships were hit in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.
According to initial information, the target of the strikes were two general cargo ships – the Togolese-flagged ALFA WATAN (IMO: 7510884) and the Palauan-flagged ABLE (IMO: 9001136).
As a result of the attack, the ALFA WATAN suffered critical structural damage and sank east of the Bulgarian coast. At the moment, there is no official information about the fate of its crew and whether there are any survivors.
The sailors from the ABLE ship were rescued. Two of them are seriously injured.
„There is still no official confirmation of who is behind the attack, but everything indicates that it is very likely that it was Russian drones again: the same handwriting, the same area, less than 24 hours after the attack in Romanian waters“, writes Kiril Petkov.
„The situation requires a lightning-fast response and coordination with NATO. Is the government ready for such a crisis with its previous hesitant positions towards Putin, or will we again wait for the storm to pass by itself?“, he further commented.