Ship attacks test Turkey’s refusal to admit warships to Black Sea

Summary

Deadly attacks on cargo ships in the waters of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania have prompted the alliance to call an emergency meeting on Black Sea security, RFI reports. Any move to send NATO ships depends on Turkey reversing its refusal to allow warships into the Black Sea. This follows earlier reports that attacks sank more Black Sea shipping, Bulgaria suspected Russia was behind two ship sinkings but said it could not prove it, and NATO might redeploy anti-drone defenses.

Timeline

1. RFI

   17 Oct 2026, 11:43 UTCSource ↗

   RFI reports that deadly attacks on cargo ships in Bulgarian and Romanian waters prompted a NATO emergency meeting, but sending NATO ships would depend on Turkey reversing its refusal to allow warships into the Black Sea.