Bulgarian services have categorical data that Russia is responsible for the attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea. This was stated by Ruslan Trad, a fellow for global security at the US Atlantic Council and part of the “Capital“ team for defense and security, in the program “120 minutes“ on bTV.
His claim has not been publicly confirmed by Bulgarian institutions. Russia and Ukraine deny carrying out the attacks, and Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov has said that no remains of the drones have been found, which is why no definitive conclusions can be drawn.
„Apart from reports by our services, including the National Security Agency, which are categorical on this issue. And that is that Russia carried out the attack“, Trad said.According to him, the information was also presented at a meeting of the National Security Advisory Council under President Iliana Yotova. According to the analyst, the reasons for not making the data public may be political.
A series of incidents in the Black Sea
Two merchant ships were attacked in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone. Trad pointed out that about 24 hours earlier there had been a similar incident in the Romanian zone, and before that an attack had also been reported in the Odessa area.
According to him, the sequence of events and the manner in which the attacks were carried out coincided with actions attributed to Russia in this sector of the Black Sea. The analyst linked the attacks to attempts to limit Ukrainian exports and Kiev's income from international trade.
The route from Odessa passes through the Black Sea to Turkey, and from there through the straits to the Mediterranean Sea. It carries Ukrainian grain, sunflower seeds and other agricultural products to markets in the Middle East and Africa.
There is no definitive data on the cargo of the sunken ship
The conversation also discussed the version that one of the ships was transporting soldiers. It was related to a statement by GERB leader Boyko Borisov, according to whom similar information was presented by the services at the meeting of the National Security Advisory Council.
Trad cast doubt on this version. He pointed out that ships on the route usually transport civilian cargo such as grain, cement and other products. However, there is no definitive data on the specific cargo for the sunken ship, since the bills of lading were not clear.
„There is no definitive data on the sunken ship and the sailors who died, because we have bills of lading that are not clear for the specific cargo,“ the analyst said.According to him, one of the versions is that the ship was transporting salt to Odessa, from where it was supposed to return to Egypt with grain. Trad admitted that satellite images could show the presence of weapons, equipment or military personnel.
Warning on security and trust in Bulgaria
According to Trad, the attacks are also intended to test the reactions and capabilities of countries in the region. He stressed that establishing responsibility is more difficult when the attack is carried out in an exclusive economic zone, rather than in territorial waters.
“The war is not just with us, it is being felt increasingly closely, it affects our shores and this will intensify because the Black Sea has long been a front line“, Trad said.
He warned that such incidents are likely to continue and said that Bulgaria does not have sufficiently developed capabilities to counter such threats. According to him, our country risks losing trust among its allies if security information does not reach partners through the usual channels.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg