Bulgaria’s leader says drone attack hits 2 commercial vessels, and Ukraine’s president blames Russia

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria’s prime minister said that two commercial vessels were struck by drones Tuesday in the first attack on shipping in the NATO member’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.

Bulgarian authorities said that the origin of the drones was under investigation, but Ukraine’s president blamed Russia for the drone strikes. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the attack.

“This is an unacceptable attack in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. It is a blatant violation of international law and maritime law,” Radev said after an emergency government meeting.

Sea and aerial drones attacked the ships around 3 a.m. (8 p.m. Monday ET), about 80 miles off Bulgaria’s coast, he said.

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The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered critical structural damage and sank at the scene. There was no immediate word on the crew’s fate, he said. The second vessel, the Palau-flagged Able, caught fire after the attack. A Bulgarian ferry evacuated all 18 crew members. Two sailors suffered severe injuries and were flown to a hospital in the port city of Varna, Radev said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s military did not conduct any operations near where the vessels were…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world