A drone has crashed in northeastern Bulgaria, near the border with Romania, causing alarm due to its proximity to a key gas pipeline linking Turkey with Ukraine. The drone crashed in a sunflower field near the Kardam border crossing in the Black Sea region. No casualties were reported from the incident, while Bulgarian authorities have launched an investigation to determine its origin and trajectory.

According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, the debris found at the scene most likely belongs to a drone model widely used by the Ukrainian armed forces. Following the incident, the Ukrainian ambassador to Sofia was summoned by the Bulgarian authorities to provide explanations. However, Kiev has denied that Bulgaria was the deliberate target of the drone. The spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Georgy Tykhy, stated that the Ukrainian military did not deliberately direct any aircraft towards Bulgarian territory and said that the incident would be investigated.

Explosion near gas pipeline

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone crashed about 1 kilometer from a compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline. According to Bulgarian authorities, the drone exploded after the crash and is suspected to have contained a significant amount of explosives. However, initial analyses of the debris suggest that it was a Maya-type drone, which is not designed to carry explosives.

Meanwhile, Romanian authorities have stated that their radar systems have not detected any aircraft crossing Romanian airspace towards Bulgaria. The incident comes at a time when the use of drones and incidents near NATO airspace have increased, particularly in the Black Sea region, as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.