By Abdullahi Inuwa
SOFIA — Tensions flared on Bulgaria’s border after a drone crossed into the country from neighbouring Romania and exploded near a major international gas pipeline, prompting Ukraine to deny deliberately targeting Bulgarian territory.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 a.m. on Saturday, about 100 metres inside Bulgaria, but officials said there were no casualties or damage despite the powerful blast.
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said initial indications suggested the unmanned aircraft was similar to drones used by Ukrainian forces, but authorities believed the incursion was accidental rather than an intentional attack.
Ukraine moved quickly to distance itself from the incident.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Kyiv was in close contact with Bulgarian authorities while the Ukrainian military investigated what happened.
He stressed that Ukraine had not deliberately targeted Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone exploded roughly 200 metres from a Romanian compressor station and about one kilometre from Bulgaria’s compressor facility along the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
The aircraft reportedly crossed the border without being detected or identified by either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace surveillance systems before the explosion.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the vulnerability of NATO territory to drones linked to the war in Ukraine, particularly as Bulgaria and Romania are both members of NATO and the European Union.
Officials said the drone appeared to have been carrying a substantial quantity of explosives, judging by the force of the explosion and the thick column of black smoke that followed.
Stoyanov, a Bulgarian security official, said small drones flying at low altitude can be particularly difficult to detect, highlighting the challenges facing countries along Ukraine’s western and southern borders.
Following the incident, Bulgarian authorities announced plans to strengthen surveillance along the Romanian frontier.
Radev said anti-drone detection and countermeasure equipment currently deployed along Bulgaria’s border with Turkey would be redeployed to the Romanian border.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance,” he said, stressing the need for greater vigilance following the incident.
The drone episode is the latest in a series of aerial incidents involving NATO territory since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Several neighbouring countries have previously reported drones crossing or crashing within their borders, including Romania and Moldova. Baltic NATO members have also reported similar incidents, with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania all facing drone-related security concerns.
In June, NATO fighter jets reportedly shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, underscoring the growing difficulty of preventing spillover from the conflict.
Romanian and Moldovan officials have previously attributed some drone incursions to Russian electronic warfare, although the circumstances have varied from one incident to another.
For Bulgaria, Saturday’s explosion has added urgency to efforts to improve airspace monitoring and counter-drone capabilities.
With a strategic gas pipeline located close to the blast site, the incident has also renewed concerns about the security of critical energy infrastructure in a region increasingly exposed to the wider consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war.
While no damage was reported and Ukraine has denied any deliberate attack, Bulgarian authorities are continuing to investigate how the drone entered the country undetected — and why it came down so close to a major gas facility.
Source:@CBSNews
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