Bulgaria to take ship attacks to UN Security Council, seeks Black Sea drone moratorium

Bulgaria will turn to the U.N. Security Council after new drone strikes on two merchant ships off its coast, President Iliana Yotova said Tuesday evening. She told broadcaster Nova that this would be harder because Russia sits on the council and would likely use its veto. In an interview with state broadcaster BNT, Yotova said the war had reached the Black Sea and the conflict was deepening.

Yotova said a coordinated text had been quickly drafted with Romania and Turkey. It calls for a moratorium on the use of drones against civilian and commercial infrastructure and an end to all military operations over the Black Sea. The Black Sea is to be a separate extraordinary item at the EU summit in Brussels starting Oct. 15. The defense ministers of the three countries are expected to meet within 10 days, the newspaper Sega reported.

NATO's North Atlantic Council discussed the incidents in the afternoon. According to Yotova, Bulgaria will receive help with the investigation, including underwater drones from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to inspect the wrecks, as well as additional surveillance. Bulgaria has not requested consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Rough seas currently prevent a safe inspection. Five sailors were rescued from the sunken HS Dignity.