Bulgarian president calls security council meeting over drone attacks

President Iliana Iotova will convene a meeting of Bulgaria’s Consultative Council on National Security on Wednesday to discuss the risks and threats to the country’s maritime security and critical infrastructure arising from the war in Ukraine, her press office announced. Earlier on Tuesday, opposition parties had called on the president to convene the council following drone attacks on commercial ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.

• Bulgarian PM condemns drone attacks on ships in Black Sea economic zone
  

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attacks as unacceptable, warning of growing concern over the situation in the Black Sea.

“Two commercial vessels were struck today in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. This comes just a day after a Turkish ship carrying Ukrainian grain was hit and sunk off the Romanian coast,” von der Leyen wrote on X. She added that there had been casualties among the innocent crews. Although the exact circumstances of the incidents have yet to be established, the developments are alarming, she said, stressing that attacks on civilian vessels are unacceptable.

“We stand in full solidarity with EU countries on the eastern flank,” von der Leyen concluded.

• Drones hit two ships 80 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast

Editor: Diana Tsankova