R. Radev did not specify exactly where the drone flew from, said that no people were harmed, and added that officials still do not know the type of aircraft.
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However, he claimed that the amount of explosives carried by the drone was significant.
“The drone exploded very close to the Kardam border crossing with Romania,” near the Black Sea in the northeast of the country, he said.
According to the prime minister, that location is also “1,000 meters from the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline compressor station,” about 200 meters from the compressor station in Romania and about 100 meters from the state border.
According to the prime minister, the drone exploded just after 5 a.m. local (and Lithuanian) time. It was not detected or identified flying through Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.
“There are no casualties or damage to buildings. The area is cordoned off. We continue to monitor the situation,” R. Radev said in a video posted by the government on social media.
The sound of the drone was recorded by the Romanian border police, and later Bulgarian border police patrols noticed a loud explosion and black smoke, R. Radev said after an extraordinary security council meeting.
“One thing is clear: the drone carried a significant amount of explosives, as it was heard from afar and caused such black smoke,” he said.
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“(The drone) fell into a sunflower field, and I hope we will soon find out what type it was,” R. Radev said, adding that it was not an amateur but a “larger drone.”
“As you know, identifying and neutralizing such drones poses a great challenge,” he added.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance. After this incident, we will also move the border police’s anti-drone capabilities from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania,” the prime minister announced.
This incident will be discussed at the North Atlantic Council meeting early next week, said Bulgaria’s defense minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
In recent months, incidents involving drones have become increasingly common in Eastern European countries that are NATO members and support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Romania, which has often experienced drone incursions since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, announced at the end of July that one Russian embassy employee was to leave the country.
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