Admiral Emil Eftimov: Drones that struck container ship came from the east

The drones that struck the container ship in the Black Sea came from the east, Bulgaria’s outgoing Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, told bTV. Sufficient information had been collected and shared with the relevant authorities at both national and allied levels, and it was now awaiting analysis.

Emil Eftimov said that when the threat emerged, military aircraft were on standby and unmanned systems were deployed, but their use was hampered by severe weather conditions.

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The situation in the Black Sea has changed significantly in recent months, Emil Eftimov stressed. “Until mid-July, strikes targeting the communication lines of the two warring sides were concentrated around Odesa, Chornomorsk and Novorossiysk. Now the area of has expanded”, he noted. According to him, the Bulgarian Navy responded to more than 100 reports of drones and aerial and maritime debris over the summer.

“Since August, our efforts have intensified, but without escalation. We are not at war. The drones did not enter our territorial waters, so we could not take action against them. Fortunately, we are part of an alliance in which we can share capabilities with our partners and maintain a reliable defence”, Emil Eftimov added, noting that Bulgaria remains in constant contact with NATO’s military command.

Edited by Diana Tsankova

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov