NATO said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) it was deploying additional planes, drones, and radar systems to the Black Sea after a string of attacks on ships near Romania and Bulgaria in the latest spillover from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Radev.
“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, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart had earlier announced NATO would send “additional assets” after talks on Black Sea security by ambassadors from its 32 member countries at its headquarters in Brussels. The announcement from NATO came after Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that a U.S. military plane had started to patrol the Black Sea following a plea for help after recent drone attacks. “An American P-8 Poseidon… has begun patrolling the Black Sea to conduct reconnaissance missions and detect any activity that could pose a risk,” said Mr. He said some NATO countries were quick to answer his call for help after the attacks and that Sofia expects “further assistance”. The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) said that “six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones marks a dangerous and unacceptable escalation”.
