Romanian authorities announced on Wednesday that an investigation had been opened into a possible new drone strike on a vessel near the country's Black Sea coastline. Drone strikes attributed to Russia have hit multiple vessels operating off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the preceding week, part of a broader pattern of Black Sea incidents connected to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A statement indicated that Romanian rescue teams responded overnight to assist the Comoros Islands-registered vessel Yara J, which had encountered difficulty in waters off Sulina, near the Ukrainian border. Defence Minister Radu Miruta reported that the vessel's crew had brought a fire under control without outside assistance, while noting that an inquiry was under way to determine whether a drone had been involved — a development he described as warranting attention given that comparable incidents had been occurring within Romanian territorial waters.
According to data published on the VesselFinder tracking platform, the Yara J is classified as a chemical and oil products tanker. Miruta said the ship had been anchored near Sulina for several days and was carrying no cargo. A statement published earlier by the defence ministry noted that two F-18 aircraft had been dispatched following the detection of multiple airborne targets over the Black Sea area.
On Wednesday, Bulgarian authorities indicated that drone strikes on four vessels in the Black Sea over the preceding week — two of which sank — were the work of Russia, while acknowledging that definitive proof of Moscow's involvement had not been established. Eleven crew members remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday, when drone strikes sent two ships to the bottom of the sea — one within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, another just beyond its boundary — while five others aboard were brought to safety.
One of the sunken vessels carries Guinea-Bissau registration, while the second is the Chelsea-3 — owned by Ukrainian interests, registered in Odesa, and flying the Maltese flag of an EU member state. A spokesperson put forward the view that no rational basis exists for Ukraine to target ships and crews under its own ownership, pointing out that the pattern of attacks has consistently worked in Russia's favour.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, addressing Parliament, stated that verification of the matter lay beyond what could currently be demonstrated. On Tuesday, Radev summoned the Russian ambassador to Sofia for talks, after which the envoy stated she had no information through Russian defence ministry channels, while also leaving open the possibility that the strikes were the result of a provocation arranged by an external party.
A cargo vessel registered under Guinea-Bissau's flag, named the Dignity, sank on Tuesday following a strike carried out by military forces. A crew of four — three from Syria and one from Egypt — was brought safely ashore at the port of Varna, with the district governor's office confirming the rescue. According to Smarkov, all four individuals were found to be in reasonable health, with no injuries reported. One more crew member was due to come aboard later that day. Smarkov confirmed that the search for 11 crew members who remain unaccounted for is ongoing.
Facing incidents targeting commercial shipping, Bulgaria turned to international partners for investigative support and called on NATO to strengthen its monitoring infrastructure and capacity to counter drone-based threats. The incidents have prompted renewed questions about Europe's readiness to guard shipping lanes and undersea infrastructure in the Black Sea, arising more than a year into an EU-backed regional security strategy.
Presenting the Black Sea Security Strategy in May 2025, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that the area was absorbing the knock-on effects of Russia's full-scale military offensive in Ukraine, adding that the Black Sea region had become a focal point for hybrid operations. The statement described the bloc's drive to strengthen joint efforts against cyber intrusions, disinformation campaigns, and other forms of hostile conduct, while pointing to repeated airspace incursions and interference with ports and shipping routes as evidence of an ongoing threat environment; officials noted the policy was designed to safeguard that maritime corridor along with offshore installations, undersea cables, and related infrastructure.
Plans for a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub — designed to bring together coast-guard cooperation and coordinate broader support activities — were also put forward as part of the commitments. Seabed sensor readings fed into the facility would be processed to generate notices for allied partners whenever underwater activity pointed to a possible threat.
