Presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov, along with We Continue the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB), accused President Iliana Yotova of failing to respond adequately after two commercial vessels were attacked by drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea and called for an immediate meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security (CCNS).

The criticism came hours after the drone strikes were reported, with one of the two ships sinking.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev called an emergency meeting at the Council of Ministers in response to the incident. He described the attack on the civilian vessels as "an absolutely unacceptable attack within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone," but did not identify the party to which he was directing the statement or say whose drones had struck the ships.

Attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea have become more frequent since Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine. The incident is the first reported drone attack on ships inside Bulgaria's exclusive maritime economic zone.

PP Chairman Asen Vassilev said Bulgaria was inadequately protected despite the larger military budget. He blamed the country for not joining NATO's anti-drone initiative and said information-sharing with allies had been weakened after Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov resigned.

Vassilev said Yotova should have called the CCNS immediately after the attack, but argued that this "will not happen again."

"It would be normal to protect Bulgarian territorial waters, or at the very least to understand why they were not protected. Unfortunately, there is no real president or commander-in-chief," the PP leader said.

DB likewise demanded that the CCNS be convened. Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, said the war could no longer be described as being "300 kilometers away from Bulgaria," pointing to the sinking of ships inside the country's exclusive economic zone. He accused Yotova of responding inadequately.

Mirchev said legislation requires the security council to convene every three months. He noted that its most recent meeting was held in February 2025 and addressed the spread of drugs and narcotics among young people.

He also attacked the government's handling of the ship incident and pointed out that Radev's statement did not identify where the attack had come from.

Mirchev contrasted that response with the authorities' handling of the drone incident near Kardam in August, which he said prompted a considerably stronger institutional reaction.

"When the drone is Ukrainian, Radev speaks out loudly. When there is evidence that the drones are Russian, he speaks of an 'incident' and says not a word about the attacking party," Mirchev said.

He further questioned the time taken to respond, saying around eight hours passed between the attack and the deployment of a Bulgarian aircraft.

Gyurov, a parliamentary candidate backed by the PP and DB coalitions, also sharply criticized Yotova. He said she neither made a public statement nor convened the CCNS in the hours after the ships were attacked.

"Supreme Commander-in-Chief is not a ceremonial title. Responsibility is proven during the most critical moments," Gyurov said.

He said the strikes showed that Bulgaria was confronting a real threat and questioned whether the country had a Commander-in-Chief capable of responding immediately. Gyurov accused Yotova of remaining silent for more than seven hours after the attack.

The two vessels targeted in Bulgarian waters were commercial general cargo ships: ALFA WATAN, which sails under the Togo flag, and ABLE, which sails under the Palau flag.

ALFA WATAN suffered critical structural damage before sinking east of the Bulgarian coast. Its crew remains missing as the search continues.

All 18 sailors aboard ABLE were rescued. One suffered severe burns, another sustained a head injury, and several others suffered minor injuries.

The reports of the attacks in Bulgarian waters came one day after another vessel was involved in an incident off the Romanian coast. Two sailors died in that case, while Ukraine accused Russia of using drones to attack the ship.

On Sunday, another vessel that had previously been attacked off Odesa was reported to have entered Bulgaria's maritime zone. Russian drones had struck the ship in August, after which its crew abandoned it. Its maneuvering systems are no longer operational, leaving the vessel drifting uncontrollably for two months.

Attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea have increased since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine.