Ships struck off Bulgaria One sinks; crew missing

Oct 5–6

Tagesschau reports drone strikes on two merchant ships about 100 kilometres off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. One freighter sank and its crew is missing; the other crew was rescued. The Bulgarian government does not identify the attacker, but points to Russia's war against Ukraine. As context, the anchor says a Turkish freighter was struck off Romania the previous day, killing two sailors. That earlier attack is a separate occurrence; the report establishes neither the perpetrator of the Bulgarian strikes nor that the missing crew died.

Two civilian merchant vessels are attacked overnight October 5–6 in Bulgaria's Black Sea waters, with one sunk and the other damaged. Tagesthemen and Tagesschau report the sunk vessel's crew missing and the other crew rescued, and say Bulgaria did not directly identify the attacker. CCTV's October 7 follow-up cites Radev's October 6 account of two foreign-flagged ships attacked in the exclusive economic zone, one sinking with occupants missing, and says drone origins remain unconfirmed. Zelenskyy's October 6 address denies Ukrainian operations there and claims Ukrainian–Bulgarian naval contacts established a combined Russian sea- and air-drone attack. He orders partner cooperation and urges a response. The differing responsibility and verification claims remain attributed; the sources do not independently settle responsibility or supply a reconciled casualty count.