Romania said on Friday (October 23, 2026) one sailor had died and three were missing after a ship was struck by a drone and sank in the latest attack in the Black Sea that President Nicusor Dan blamed on Russia.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Romanian authorities said there were 10 Ukrainian and three Azerbaijani crew on board. “Of the 13 people on board, 10 were rescued by another commercial vessel in the area, nine of whom were alive and one of whom had died.
Dan said the attack was “clearly part of the escalation that Russia is carrying out in the context of the war in Ukraine”. Three others are still missing,” the interior ministry said in a statement. “Due to adverse weather conditions and poor visibility, an aerial rescue operation by helicopter is not possible,” said the the Romanian Naval Authority. On Thursday, following a meeting of Romania’s Supreme Council for National Defence, the presidency said that “threats to freedom of navigation and critical infrastructure have increased significantly”. Romania is looking into “accelerated development of maritime surveillance capabilities, mine countermeasures and effective countermeasures against drones that intrude unauthorised into national airspace and territorial waters”, the presidency said. Foreign Minister Dan Neculaescu said Romania was working with NATO allies including Bulgaria and Turkey to “fast-track the additional surveillance capabilities”.
