Bulgaria links crashed drone to Ukraine, Kyiv responds
Bulgaria claims drone crashed on August 8 at its border with Romania had ties to Ukraine, prompting response from Kyiv (photo: Flickr)
Bulgaria's Defense Ministry says the drone that exploded on August 8 may have been a Ukrainian Maya decoy. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry stressed that nothing was deliberately directed toward the country, according to the Bulgarian Defense Ministry and comments from Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.
What Bulgaria said
The country's Defense Ministry said the drone that crashed and exploded on the morning of August 8 was "most likely" a Maya decoy drone.
Such drones are widely used by the Ukrainian armed forces. The assessment is based on an initial analysis of the debris.
"At the moment, there is no reason to believe that the incident was intentional," the ministry said.
What Ukraine responded
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it is in close contact with the Bulgarian side to establish the circumstances of the incident. The ministry's spokesperson stressed that the country's Defense Forces did not deliberately direct any weapons or other assets toward Bulgaria.
According to him, the Ukrainian side is establishing all the technical facts and is fully open to cooperation with Bulgaria.
About the cause of incidents
The Foreign Ministry stressed that the root cause of all incidents of this kind is Russia's war against Ukraine, which has been ongoing for five years and is being deliberately prolonged by Moscow.
The spokesperson says the war threatens not only Ukrainians but also other countries, making its swift end critically important for regional security. The ministry thanked Bulgaria for its understanding and cooperation.
This was not the first time drones linked to the war had been detected in countries bordering the Black Sea. Recently, the Bulgarian Navy found and destroyed an unidentified drone in the Black Sea off the country's coast.
