On October 7 at 1:00 p.m., President Iliana Yotova will convene a meeting of the National Security Advisory Council at the presidential institution.
The topic is “Current risks and threats to the maritime security and critical infrastructure of Bulgaria in the context of the war in Ukraine“.
Earlier today, drones hit two ships in Bulgarian waters in the Black Sea. One sank near Byala. A large-scale rescue operation is underway, east of Cape Sveti Atanas and the town of Byala.
Two merchant ships have become targets of the drones – the Togolese-flagged general cargo ship ALFA WATAN and the Palauan-flagged ABLE.
Among the rescued crew are two seriously injured sailors. One has serious burns and has been admitted to the burn clinic of the Naval Hospital in Varna.
The other has a head injury and has been admitted to the neurosurgery department of the "St. Anna" Hospital.
The incident marks the first-ever attack on ships in Bulgaria's Exclusive Economic Zone.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev indicated that the origin of the drones is still unclear. "They are either Russian or Ukrainian", Radev laconically commented.
According to him, the attack was complex – with a sea and an air drone.