Drones attacked two ships in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Tuesday, sinking one and triggering emergency rescue operations, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. The cargo ship Dignity, flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, sank after being hit by a military attack. Five sailors were rescued, while the search continued for the other 11 crew members, Varna district governor Mario Smrkov said. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Ukrainian-operated coastal freighter Chelsea 3, which sails under the Maltese flag, and five were treated for minor injuries, Radev said in a video posted on social media. The crew, which included seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijani citizens, reported that the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aircraft. drones. The attacks on the two ships occurred 20 and 21 miles (32 and 34 kilometers) off the Bulgarian coast. During an emergency meeting of the Bulgarian Security Council on Tuesday, Radev called the attacks “absolutely unacceptable” and said Bulgaria was seeking help from NATO and the European Union. While authorities do not have clear evidence about who was responsible for the drone attacks, “it makes no sense for Ukraine to destroy its own ships in the Black Sea, and the results of these attacks serve Russia’s interests,” Radev told the Russian ambassador in Sofia during a meeting on Tuesday, the government press office reported. He said he does not have any information from the Russian Defense Ministry related to the recent attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea, but added that he does not rule out the possibility that “these attacks represent a provocation by a third party.” Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. Radev has said that such attacks are unacceptable and that Bulgaria will continue to investigate them together with its EU and NATO allies to establish the truth. Radev said Bulgaria is suffering significant economic and financial damage and added that his country will start talks with neighbors Romania and Turkey on joint proposals to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in a post on X on Tuesday blamed Russia for the attacks. “Russia’s latest attack on commercial vessels near Bulgarian waters, which injured Ukrainian and Azerbaijani citizens, once again demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives and maritime security in the Black Sea,” Sybiha wrote. “The Black Sea is a lifeline for global food security. Russia is attacking it to weaponize hunger and hold the world hostage. This must be confronted forcefully,” Sybiha wrote. “NATO will continue to work closely with our allies in the Black Sea,” wrote NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in X. He added that NATO had already strengthened its posture along the eastern flank and will continue to monitor the security environment, adjusting its deterrence and defense posture as necessary. civilian ships, especially the most recent ones off the coast of Bulgaria, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday. 2:06 Russia attacks Ukraine despite Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ More about the world More videos “It is very worrying because these attacks on ships transporting grain, food and other products destined for the global market have multiplied and expanded recently,” Dujarric said. “It has a terrible knock-on effect on the price of raw materials around the world when you also look at the situation around the Strait of Hormuz in the Red Sea, not to mention the risk, and also the fatal risk that seafarers face.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “strongly condemned” the drone incidents and said the Black Sea “has become another escalation front” in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “This is unacceptable. I strongly condemn the drone attacks on merchant ships near the coast of Bulgaria. They put the lives of the crew in grave danger and threaten security in the Black Sea,” he said in a post on number of Russian hybrid activities would be discussed at the European Council meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Brussels. The attacks came exactly a week after maritime and aerial drones attacked two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. A Togolese-flagged ship sank, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated the 18 crew members of a Pulau-flagged ship a day earlier. caught fire after a drone attack and then sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania Two people were killed and 11 crew members were rescued, Romanian authorities said © 2026 The Canadian Press.