There is no evidence of the participation of any party in the attacks on merchant ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. This was stated by the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, quoted by TASS.
„The recent incident in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone was discussed at a meeting held on October 13 between Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. The summary of this conversation is that at the moment there is no evidence of any side's involvement in the attacks on the ships," Zakharova said.
Attacks near Byala
The meeting between Mitrofanova and Radev took place after another drone attack on two merchant ships near Byala. A week earlier, two other merchant ships were attacked about 70 nautical miles east of the city.
During the conversation, Mitrofanova stated that she had no information from the Russian Ministry of Defense related to the recent attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea. She assured the prime minister that there was no information about attacks on Bulgaria.
Differences in positions
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told parliament that Russia was probably behind the attacks, but admitted that this could not be proven. “It makes no sense for Ukraine to attack its own ships and crews, since the result of all these attacks is in favor of Russia, but the problem is that we cannot prove it“, Radev said.
Thus, the Russian and Bulgarian positions differ in the assessment of the likely perpetrator, but both sides admit that at present there is no evidence to establish responsibility for the strikes.
Bulgaria has requested international assistance for the investigation, as well as support from NATO to strengthen surveillance and improve response capabilities in the event of drone attacks.
Sources: focus-news.net, nova.bg, apnews.com