Drones that hit ship off Bulgaria came from the east, defense chief says

The drones that struck a container ship off Bulgaria in the Black Sea on Wednesday came from the east, the country’s outgoing Chief of Defense, Adm. Emil Eftimov, said Thursday, according to Anadolu Agency.

However, the available data still needed to be analyzed, Eftimov said in an interview with broadcaster bTV. The Bulgarian news agency BTA reported that he said the air force was on alert when the drones entered Bulgarian territory.

Bulgaria deployed drones to counter the threat, but severe weather conditions restricted their operations, Eftimov said.

“We are not at war. The drones did not enter territorial waters, so we did not take action,” he said.

Eftimov said Bulgaria remained in constant communication with NATO’s command.

His comments came a day after another container ship was hit by three naval drones about 21 miles southeast of Shabla.

Bulgaria has described attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea as violations of international maritime law. Bulgarian authorities have also called for international cooperation to address the attacks.