The Russian Embassy in Sofia has stated that the two ships hit in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea were not targets of the Russian armed forces. They are the vessels ALFA WATAN and ABLE, which were attacked on the night of October 6.
“According to information published by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the ships ALFA WATAN and ABLE are not among the targets hit by the Russian armed forces on the night of October 6 this year“, the embassy told bTV. They added that the results of the investigation must be awaited to establish the origin of the drones.
„In order to determine the nationality of the drones used to strike the mentioned ships, it is necessary to await the results of the investigation“, the Russian embassy said.What is known about the ships struck
The two vessels were hit at around 3 a.m. on October 6, approximately 128 kilometers from the Bulgarian coast. ALFA WATAN, which flies under the flag of Togo, was severely damaged and sank. ABLE, which flies under the flag of Palau, was set on fire, and its crew was evacuated by a Bulgarian ship.
According to the Associated Press, there were 18 people on board the ABLE. Two sailors were seriously injured and taken to Varna for treatment. The ship was carrying wheat, while the cargo of the sunken ALFA WATAN has not been specified. Bulgarian authorities have been monitoring the area for possible pollution.
The origin of the drones remains unknown
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces were not carrying out operations in the area and blamed Russia for the attack. According to him, this was a combined use of sea and air drones.
However, Bulgarian authorities have not confirmed this version. Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said that at the moment it cannot be established whether the drones are Russian or Ukrainian. According to him, this requires debris from the used devices or an official assumption of responsibility by one of the parties.
So, at the moment, the attack itself, the location of the two ships and the consequences of the strikes have been confirmed, but not who is behind them. Bulgarian institutions continue to collect data on the case.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg, apnews.com, bta.bg