Bulgaria has shown it can react fast and control its exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea after attacks on merchant ships, prime minister Rumen Radev told parliament. See our original report: Denkov calls on Bulgaria to invoke NATO's Article 4 over drone attacks.
Four ships were hit in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone on 6 and 13 October, all within one week. Two of them sank. The strikes came at night.
"We showed that Bulgaria can act quickly and on time, and that it can control its exclusive economic zone," Radev said.
MPs heard what the state has done since the attacks, how it assesses the risk and what steps come next. Another topic was reports of deliberate arson against antennas for the Starlink satellite system.
Radev noted that the weather on 13 October was bad, with heavy seas, poor visibility, low cloud and rain. "Even so, our rescue teams did an extremely good job, and I thank them for it," he said.
Four people were rescued from one of the two ships that sank. The crews of the two ships that stayed afloat were rescued.
Radev said Bulgaria met its duties under international conventions on search and rescue, and that rescuers acted on time, with skill and responsibility. He thanked the Air Force, the Border Police, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Varna and the Maritime Administration.
Follow-up: Bulgaria stays in "Drone Edge" with €80m for 20 anti-drone systems