Is the war entering a new phase? Romania has blamed Russia for a drone strike that sank a cargo ship off Romania's Black Sea coast, killing one crew member and leaving three others missing. It's the latest drone attack targeting commercial shipping off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, with at least seven cargo ships hit and 30 sailors reported killed or missing in the past two weeks, raising fears of an escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine. The shipping data website MarineTraffic showed the Khoryv departed Turkiye on Wednesday and was headed for Romania's Sulina port, which links the Danube River to the Black Sea. The canal has become the primary route for Ukrainian exporters, which rely on ports on the Danube and Romanian territorial waters, as Russia has attacked Ukraine's own Black Sea ports.

Is the war entering a new phase? NATO is deploying additional patrol aircraft and intelligence personnel to the Black Sea, a spokesman for the alliance said, after a series of deadly drone attacks in the region widely blamed on Russia but denied by the Kremlin. "Allies have or will send additional maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, explosive exploitation teams, intelligence personnel, drones and more to the Black Sea," said Colonel Martin O'Donnell on Tuesday. NATO, along with Bulgaria and Romania, has not directly attributed the recent spate of attacks to any country. Military analysts have said Russia almost certainly carried out the attacks but Moscow has not acknowledged any responsibility.

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Is the war entering a new phase? Ship catches fire in Romania's waters amid rising attacks in the Black Sea Share Ship catches fire in Romania's waters amid rising attacks in the Black Sea on social media A ship anchored in Romania's territorial waters has caught fire and the crew has been evacuated, Romanian authorities said. The incident comes amid growing concerns over hybrid attacks in the Black Sea involving Russia. Multiple drones breached Romanian airspace on Wednesday near its border with Ukraine. On Tuesday, two ships were hit in drone attacks off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, with one of them sinking, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.

Image caption, Five crew members on the Ukrainian-registered merchant ship suffered minor injuries in Tuesday's attacks A merchant ship has sunk after drones hit two vessels off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, Prime Minister Rumen Radev has said. He indicated Russia was suspected of the attacks and that he had called in its ambassador. One of the ships went down 17 nautical miles (31km) east of Krapets and one crew member was saved, he said. The other, Ukrainian-owned vessel was hit by three drones 18 nautical miles from the town of Byala and all 15 crew were rescued, he added. The drone attacks come a week after two other commercial ships were hit by sea and aerial drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.

Is the war entering a new phase? Syria has called for an "independent and transparent" investigation into the sinking of a cargo ship in the Black Sea, demanding answers over the fate of the ship's 10 crew members, including nine Syrians and an Egyptian, who remain unaccounted for. The Togolese-flagged Alfa Watan, went down in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone early on Tuesday, amid a rising number of drone strikes hitting Black Sea shipping during the Russia-Ukraine war. Mazen Aloush, from the Syria's port authority asked the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Bulgarian authorities to find out why a search and rescue mission was called off, before the missing sailors were found. "Their fate is still unknown" said Aloush, adding that "the reasons that led to the suspension of search and rescue operations" had to be established.

A Togo-flagged merchant ship sank off Bulgaria after a drone attack, with its crew missing. A second ship was also hit and its crew was rescued. Bulgaria's prime minister called the attacks a'flagrant violation' of international and maritime law. Yemen's Taiz residents fear food and fuel crisis amid fighting Is Europe preparing for a wider war with Russia? What we know about Russia's suspected plague case France's student protests grow as hundreds of schools close

Is the war entering a new phase? Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev says drones have hit two commercial vessels, sinking one ship and wounding several people, in what he denounced as an "absolutely unacceptable" attack. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Radev said the ships were attacked by sea drones and aerial drones at about 3am (00:00 GMT), about 70 nautical miles (130km) off Bulgaria's coast, amid a rise in attacks on Black Sea shipping due to expanding drone attacks related to the Russia-Ukraine war. It is a blatant violation of international law and maritime law," Radev said. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered critical structural damage and sank at the scene.

A civilian cargo ship has sunk and its crew is missing after being attacked by drones in the Black Sea, Bulgarian officials say. A second vessel - carrying grain - was also hit within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. Its 18 crew were rescued. Radev did not say who was behind the attacks, which come as Russia intensifies strikes in the Black Sea, particularly the eastern side, as part of its war against Ukraine. Moscow has not commented on the latest incident, a day after it was accused by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of striking a civilian vessel carrying corn.

Is the war entering a new phase? Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed a Russian drone attack for the sinking of a ship in Romania's section of the Black Sea. Romania reported that two people were killed and 11 rescued when a grain ship caught fire and sank in its waters on Monday. The Ukrainian president's claim suggests the incident is the latest in a series of suspected incursions along NATO's eastern flank, and will fuel concerns that Moscow's war in Ukraine could spill over. According to the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the coastguard was alerted at about 11am local time (08:00 GMT) that a fire had broken out on the ship, adding that it was in the country's "exclusive economic zone".