The head of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, Admiral Emil Eftimov, told bTV that the maritime drones that struck the Contship Jet near Cape Kaliakra had come from the east.
He stressed that the Bulgarian military had intelligence about a possible attack, but legal restrictions prevented it from taking action against the drones outside the country’s territorial waters, Novinite. reports.
“Yesterday’s drones came from the sea, from the east,” Eftimov said, noting that the armed forces had sufficient information about the drones. However, he did not publicly attribute the attack to any particular country.
According to the admiral, the military had received advance intelligence about a possible attack and had taken precautionary measures.
“We had intelligence, which is why we took the necessary measures. Following the incident at Kardam and the strikes in early October, we have steadily stepped up our efforts, particularly in reconnaissance, surveillance, situational analysis and early warning, and we did so yesterday as well,” he explained.
Asked whether Russia was behind the attack, Eftimov stopped short of giving a definitive answer.
“I have not heard any defence chief, whether from Romania, Turkey or any other country, make a definitive assessment of the origin of such hostile acts or who was responsible for them, based on the information available to them,” he said.
The admiral noted that Bulgaria acts as a NATO member state and adheres to the Alliance’s Strategic Concept.
Eftimov said the armed forces had responded appropriately and rejected criticism that Bulgaria had failed to intervene. Since August, the country has strengthened its air defence and surveillance systems and expanded its air force capabilities, including the use of Su-25, L-39 and F-16 aircraft.
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