Bulgaria just got hit by drones and Russia is the main suspect

So why does this one matter so much?

Because it's the second drone attack on merchant ships in Bulgaria's waters in a week. And this time the drones hit four times closer to shore.

Let's go back seven days. On 6 October, drones hit two other ships much further out — about 130 kilometres off Bulgaria. One of them, the Alfa Watan, sank. Its crew was never found. Bulgaria called off the search four days later. The other ship, the Able, caught fire. All 18 crew got off, two of them badly hurt.

And the day before that attack, a separate ship caught fire and sank off Romania. Two people died. Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia was behind it.

So in just over a week, three ships have gone down or caught fire in these waters.

And nobody has officially said they did it.

Radev hasn't named Russia outright. But listen to what he actually said. He says quote "the outcome of the attacks benefits the Russian Federation."

That's Bulgaria's own Prime Minister pointing straight at Moscow, without quite saying the word.

He's calling this one serious too. He told reporters another attack on merchant ships this close to Bulgarian waters is completely unacceptable.

Here's the thing. Bulgaria is a NATO country. This stretch of sea isn't its territorial waters, but it is water Bulgaria controls. And drones have now reached into it twice in a week — first 130 kilometres out, now roughly 24.

After the first attack, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, called the situation in the Black Sea increasingly concerning. Hungary's Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, offered Bulgaria his solidarity.

None of that stopped a second attack happening. Closer in. A week later.

So what's still not known? Who sent the drones. Who owns the second sunk ship. And what happened to the rest of its crew.

Bulgaria is now asking NATO and the EU to help find out.