Is Bulgaria safe against the backdrop of the increased drone attacks against ships in the Black Sea? What are our country's capabilities to defend itself and are the planned measures sufficient? These issues were commented on by former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Milen Keremedchiev and captain and maritime security expert Hristo Papukchiev to Nova TV.
According to Milen Keremedchiev, the attacks in the Black Sea will probably continue, since the public positions of the Russian leadership, including Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Peskov, do not give reason to expect a cessation of military actions against Ukraine in this region.
According to him, the Russian side has given signals that it has no intention of stopping the attacks even if peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev begin. The current situation requires Bulgaria to realistically assess the risks to maritime security and take measures tailored to the development of the conflict, instead of relying on the danger to decrease on its own.
Keremedchiev believes that Bulgaria is running after events, acting in a panic, buying equipment piecemeal and is not integrated into the common security system of the Black Sea, which is why it is time to activate Article 4 of the NATO treaty.
For his part, Hristo Papukchiev questioned the extent to which the announced measures to acquire additional air defense assets meet the specific threats.
He emphasized that the presence of anti-drone systems and surveillance equipment in itself does not guarantee security if they are not part of an effectively coordinated system. The fact that such incidents have occurred, according to him, is a sign of failure so far.
Papukchiev described as wrong the approach of considering security only as a conditional line that must be defended, since it is a dynamically developing space, influenced by the capabilities of the warring parties and third players in the conflict.
The expert also drew attention to the lack of sufficient information about the means used in the attacks, since the type of drones and their method of control are essential for determining the appropriate protection measures.