The Bulgarian navy ship Mizar arrives with rescued sailors from a drone-attacked vessel at Varna port, Bulgaria, on Oct. 13, 2026. Hristo Rusev/Getty Images
Bulgaria will be ready to join NATO’s anti-drone initiative by the end of October, the country’s defense minister has said following two drone attacks on cargo vessels off the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea in the space of one week.
Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told a parliamentary hearing on Oct. 14 that Sofia “will be part of this project as soon as possible,” according to local media.
“Expectations are that by October 30, we will already be part of the project,” Stoyanov said.
The announcement came the day after two cargo ships were hit by drones off the coast of the Black Sea.
One of the vessels, identified as the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo vessel HS Dignity, was sunk, resulting in 11 sailors being missing at sea. Bulgarian authorities later called off search and rescue operations, citing strong wind, reduced visibility, and waves.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the second vessel, the Chelsea 3, was sailing under a Maltese flag, registered in Odesa, and Ukrainian-owned. All 15 of its crew members—seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis—were transported to the port of Varna.
Radev in the Oct. 13 post also wrote that Sofia was seeking support in investigating the attacks and to determine the country of origin of the drones.
While not explicitly blaming Moscow, Radev said that “the logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation.” He added that he would summon the Russian ambassador to discuss the incident.
Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova said she does not have any information from the Russian ministry of defense about attacks on commercial vessels, but she did not rule out the possibility that “these attacks represent a provocation by a third party.”
On Oct. 14, Radev told parliament that Russia was likely behind the incident.
“There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favors Russia—and indeed, the logic points in that direction. The problem is that we cannot prove it,” he said.
Drones struck two other cargo ships in the same waters on Oct. 6.
Black Sea Shipping Route
The Black Sea is bordered by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
It is a vital shipping route, including for Russia, which is the world’s largest wheat exporter.
Ukraine, which is also among the world’s largest producers of grain and seed products, moves some 90 percent of its exported crops through the Black Sea.
However, transportation has been hampered by Russian attacks on Black Sea port infrastructure and against ships carrying cargo.
In recent months, Russian forces struck Ukrainian targets on the Black Sea, including the ports of Chornomorsk and Odesa.
Ukraine, for its part, has been targeting Russian grain and farming infrastructure in the Black Sea.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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