Photo: EPA
A drone entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania on Saturday and exploded near the village of Kardam, close to the border. No one was injured and no damage to civilian infrastructure was reported, Reuters reported.
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said an initial analysis suggested the aircraft was most likely a Maya decoy drone, a type widely used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, the ministry stressed that there was currently no evidence the incident was deliberate.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone crossed into Bulgarian airspace at around 8:10 a.m. local time before exploding in a sunflower field. The crash site was about 1 kilometer from a compressor station of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline and roughly 200 meters from a Romanian compressor station.
Following the incident, Bulgaria said it would strengthen security around strategic infrastructure and increase surveillance along its border with Romania.
Radev also pointed to delays in the delivery of high-precision radars to the Bulgarian military, saying the incident highlighted the difficulties of detecting and identifying drones in time.
Similar incidents involving unidentified aerial objects have recently been reported in Romania and other European countries, raising concerns among NATO members about the growing threat posed by drones.
