SOFIA — Bulgaria has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after a drone believed to be of Ukrainian origin entered Bulgarian airspace and exploded near a strategic gas pipeline close to the Romanian border, prompting renewed concern over the spillover of the Russia-Ukraine war into NATO territory.
The drone exploded on Saturday near the village of Kardam, shortly after entering Bulgaria from Romania, Bulgarian authorities said. There were no casualties and no reported damage to infrastructure, including the nearby Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
Bulgaria’s foreign minister summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said, following the incident. The move came as Ukrainian officials denied that their armed forces had deliberately directed a drone toward Bulgarian territory.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said Kyiv was in close contact with Bulgarian authorities to establish the circumstances of the incident. He said the Ukrainian armed forces had not intentionally directed any assets toward Bulgaria.
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said an initial assessment indicated that the aircraft was most likely a Maya decoy drone, a type widely used by Ukrainian forces. Bulgarian authorities said there was no indication that the incident had been deliberate.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone entered Bulgarian airspace at about 8:10 a.m. local time and exploded in a field roughly 1 kilometre from a compressor station on the Trans-Balkan pipeline. The device was carrying a significant amount of explosives, Radev said.
The explosion occurred close to the Bulgarian-Romanian frontier, with Romanian border police first detecting the sound of the drone before Bulgarian patrols reported the blast.
Authorities said the drone had not been detected earlier in either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace, highlighting difficulties in identifying small, low-flying unmanned aircraft. Bulgaria has since increased surveillance and plans to strengthen its drone-detection and countermeasure capabilities along the border.
The incident comes amid a series of drone incursions into the airspace of NATO members bordering Ukraine as the war continues. Romania has repeatedly reported Russian drone violations of its airspace and has taken military action against some of the aircraft.
Bulgaria has not attributed the latest incident to Russia or said who launched the drone. Ukraine has rejected any suggestion that it intentionally targeted Bulgaria.
The investigation and diplomatic contacts between Sofia and Kyiv are expected to continue, with the Ukrainian ambassador due to meet Bulgarian officials on Monday.
