Russia Behind Drone Strikes on Ships Off Bulgaria, Zelensky Says, as Radev Rules Out Invoking NATO Articles

President Volodymyr Zelensky denied Ukraine’s responsibility for the strikes on two Bulgarian civilian vessels in the Black Sea, instead pinning the blame on Russia.In his evening address on Tuesday, Oct. 6, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Navy had been in contact with its Bulgarian counterparts. According to him, they established that the ships were hit in a combined Russian strike using maritime and aerial drones. However, Ukrainian intelligence and special services were still gathering additional details.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“The Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted no operations in this part of the sea,” Zelensky said. “This latest tragedy involving civilian vessels is part of Russia’s ongoing attempt to make the western Black Sea completely unsuitable for navigation.”The President has ordered the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), the Defense Ministry, intelligence services and other relevant agencies to cooperate as closely as possible with partners, so that both Ukraine and its allies are better able to defend themselves against such attacks.Radev: Drones ‘either Russian or Ukrainian’Zelensky’s statement came hours after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Sofia had not yet determined who launched the drones.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Radev said the vessels were struck by both a maritime and an aerial drone, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported.“We have yet to try to establish where the attack came from, but it is clear: they are either Russian or Ukrainian,” he said, adding that the situation is “extremely worrying.” Other Topics of Interest Lithuania Moves Closer Toward Scrapping Nuclear Weapons Ban The amendment passed its first reading on Tuesday, with a final vote scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027. According to him, the ship that was moving north was the one that sank, and for which Bulgarian authorities did not have further information on what it had onboard at the time of the report.The other ship that was damaged was traveling south, carrying wheat, he said.Although it struck Bulgarian vessels, the attack could not be grounds for triggering NATO’s Article 4, which allows allies to request consultations; or 5, which invokes the alliance’s collective defense.“We have much more serious attacks inside territorial waters. Keep in mind that this is 130 km [roughly 81 miles] from our coast; it falls within our exclusive economic zone, but these are considered neutral waters,” Radev said.Still, the prime minister warned of a broader pattern, noting that ships are constantly being sunk in the Black Sea. “This is hardly the most serious incident,” he said. “But it is serious as a trend because, as I said, when a war is not stopped in time, it expands its geographic reach.”Crew still missingEarlier on Tuesday, the vessels were identified as the Able and the Alfa Watan.Vessel-tracking data from VesselFinder showed the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan heading toward Romania’s port of Sulina. Its last known position was about 70 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast, shortly after 2 a.m. local time.The Able caught fire, and all 18 people aboard abandoned it, according to Rumen Nikolov, who leads rescue operations in Varna, as cited by Bulgarian public radio BNR.The Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria picked up the crew, some of whom were reportedly hurt.Euronews described the strike as the first such attack inside the economic zone of a NATO member state.The incident is the latest in a widening campaign against commercial shipping. Moscow has increasingly targeted merchant vessels in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities and tankers.On Monday, Oct. 5, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain caught fire and sank after a drone struck it in the Black Sea.On Tuesday, Odesa Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper said a Russian drone hit a Marshall Islands-flagged ship loaded with rapeseed oil. One person was killed and seven were injured.Radev, a former president seen as pro-Russian, won in the April 2026 parliamentary election, which ended a stretch of seven national votes in four years.His government has since said it would halt all weapons deliveries to Ukraine, after Bulgaria had been a key supplier of Soviet-standard artillery shells to the country.The strikes follow increasing drone incursions, sabotage campaigns and cyberattacks conducted by Russia, which Ukraine’s Western allies say may be intended to test NATO’s collective resolve. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.