Drone sinks Ukrainian-owned ship off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, prime minister says

(Adds details, changes media keywords from BULGARIA-INCIDENT/DRONE ) SOFIA, Oct ​13 - Two ships were ​hit by drones off Bulgaria's ‌Black Sea ​coast and one of them sank, in the second such incident in a week, ‌Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian-owned "Chelsea 3", sailing under Maltese flag, was hit by three drones some 18 nautical miles (33 km) off ‌the Bulgaria coast around 1:30 a.m. (2230 GMT), Radev said. Its crew - ‌seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis - had been rescued. Five crew members received medical assistance, but no one was seriously injured. One crew member of the sunken ship ⁠had also ​been rescued, Radev ⁠said.

"This is absolutely unacceptable — another attack in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters," ⁠Radev said in a televised address. "I am due to speak with NATO ​Secretary General Mark Rutte."

Radev said there was no clear evidence ⁠who carried out the attack but "the outcome benefits the Russian Federation", adding that he would ⁠summon ​the Russian ambassador about the incident. Bulgaria does not border either Ukraine or Russia, but as a NATO member it holds ⁠a strategic position on the Black Sea, where both countries have major ⁠ports. There ⁠are growing concerns about hybrid attacks involving drones by Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.