A few days earlier, drone attacks struck commercial vessels in the Black Sea near the Bulgarian coast, and one of the vessels sank. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms” and described them as “a new front of escalation” in Russia’s war against Ukraine, calling for those responsible to be held accountable. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that he would summon the Russian ambassador and inform NATO, also stating that two other vessels had been hit near the coast and that the victims were reported missing.
In Romania, Foreign Minister Dan Neculăescu described a previous attack on a commercial vessel located approximately 13 nautical miles from Constanța as a flagrant violation of international law and freedom of navigation, amid the intensification of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The authorities intervened following the SOS call, and the incident resulted in reports of nine sailors rescued, three missing, and one dead; the vessel, flying the flag of the Comoros Islands, capsized and sustained major damage, with a risk of sinking. Meanwhile, Dan Neculăescu said that Romania is working with NATO allies (including Bulgaria and Türkiye) to accelerate the commissioning of additional surveillance capabilities agreed at the North Atlantic Council meeting on October 20.
After the attacks, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas spoke with the Romanian Foreign Minister about the effects of the incidents on regional security and global food supplies, noting that they remain in close contact.
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