Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address that the ships were attacked in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. According to Ukrainian Minister Andrii Sybiha on the platform X, a fire broke out on one of the struck vessels, forcing 18 crew members to abandon ship in an emergency.
Coordination with the Bulgarian side confirmed the attack was a combined Russian strike using naval and aerial drones. Ukrainian defense forces had not carried out any operations in that area of the Black Sea.
The two civilian freighters hit were the ALFA WATAN, sailing under the flag of Togo, and the ABLE, under the flag of Palau. The ALFA WATAN was en route from Egypt’s El-Arish to Sulina in Romania and sank after the attack; the fate of its crew is still unknown, and empty life rafts were found at the scene. The ABLE was traveling from the Romanian port of Galati to Istanbul.
The incident came just one day after Russia attacked a Turkish civilian cargo ship carrying food, killing its captain. A freighter had also been hit earlier in Romanian territorial waters, and Russian drones have repeatedly been tracked in Moldovan airspace.
Zelensky stressed that this is exactly what Russia is planning: to keep escalating, and there must be a clear response to this Russian aggressiveness. All Ukrainian specialized services, defense forces and the intelligence agency have been ordered to work closely with international partners to strengthen joint protection capabilities.
Sybiha warned that systematic attacks on merchant ships are making the western part of the Black Sea unsafe for all shipping. This triggers a chain of negative consequences for the entire world and drives up insurance and freight costs. Freedom of navigation loses its meaning if Russia can turn it into a risk for civilian crews and ships, the minister said. Ukraine is calling on the international community not to limit itself to dealing with the consequences, but to eliminate the source of the danger itself by reducing Russia’s aggressive potential.
Source: 24tv.ua
