Radev: Russia has a motive for drone attacks on ships in Black Sea but Bulgaria cannot prove its guilt

Russia has a motive to be behind the drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea, but Bulgaria cannot prove its guilt, Prime Minister Roumen Radev told Parliament on October 14.

Radev was speaking during a parliamentary hearing of the Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Interior Minister and chiefs of security and intelligence services on the attacks on vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and the arson of Starlink antennas near Sofia.

In a week, four ships were hit in attacks near the Bulgarian coast, two of them sank and while several sailors were rescued, dozens are missing.

The hearing was at the request of Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party. Radev did not provide any new data, but called for calm, and his messages made it clear that he is not expected to abandon the extremely cautious policy he has been following towards Moscow.

“It makes no sense for Ukraine to attack its own ships and crews,” Radev told MPs.

“Given that the result of all these attacks is in favour of Russia, and indeed logic leads there. The problem is that we cannot prove it ,” he said.

He pointed out that the case of the Chelsea 3 ship (attacked on October 13) was a “turning point” and changed his assessment of the attacks because it was no longer about ships and crews registered outside of Europe.

“I told ambassador (Eleonora) Mitrofanova this personally,” Radev said, referring to his October 13 talks with the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria.

The ship Chelsea has already changed the picture. Because the crew is mixed – Ukrainian and Azerbaijani. The ship is registered in Odesa, is owned by Ukraine, and sails under the flag of the European Union – Maltese,” he said.

Radev said that Mitrofanova had assured him that the Russian Ministry of Defence had no information about Russian attacks at sea.

“The investigation will show whether this allegation is true or not,” Radev said.

According to the government, there is no risk to Bulgarian ships, and the attacks so far have been “very well-directed and clearly targeted”.

“The one who carries them out knows very well what he is hitting, where he is hitting it and when he is hitting it in relation to his interests in supplying important raw materials to Romania and Ukraine or in preventing important exports from Ukraine,” Radev said.

“I do not expect the Bulgarian fleet and the ships serving Bulgaria under a foreign flag to be attacked,” he said.

Bulgaria has requested international assistance in investigating the attacks on merchant ships, as well as assistance from Nato to strengthen surveillance and control systems and response capabilities against drone attacks.

He said that Bulgaria had activated all diplomatic channels within Nato and the European Union to provide assistance in proving the origin of the drones and what their type was.

Radev gave an assurance that active negotiations are underway with Romania and Türkiye for safe corridors for maritime navigation.

He also gave an assurance that there is enough fuel in the Lukoil refinery in Bourgas and at this stage, even if oil supplies are disrupted, the market should be calm.

Asked by Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Ayten Sabri what were the new measures he had outlined at a Cabinet security council meeting on October 13 for threat prevention and surveillance in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Radev said: “Anti-drone surveillance, airspace control, reaction, destruction, this cannot happen just like that with slogans. Does anyone in the room have a clear idea of ​​how we can cover the entire exclusive economic zone with radar surveillance? I can tell you that it cannot be done.”