War Widens in the Black Sea in a Test of NATO Red Lines
After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in…
The Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet at sea, October 28, 2026. The ship sank after being hit by naval drones in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Wednesday, according to the Bulgarian government, while en route from Haifa in Israel to Constanta in Romania. French Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS
LONDON/BUCHAREST, Nov 3 (Reuters) – After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.
Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for NATO in the Black Sea that has left littoral member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.
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