Drone from Romania explodes near Trans-Balkan gas pipeline in Bulgaria

Sofia,UPDATED: Aug 9, 2026 01:02 IST

A drone crossed from Romania into Bulgarian airspace and exploded near an international gas pipeline on Saturday, prompting an emergency response in Bulgaria. Authorities said there were no casualties and no damage to buildings, while Ukrainian officials said the military was looking into the incident and had not deliberately targeted Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian defence ministry later said initial signs suggested the drone was likely a 'Maya' decoy drone, a type widely used by the Ukrainian armed forces, and that there was no reason at this stage to believe the incident was intentional. The episode comes as drones straying into NATO airspace have become more common since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Rumen Radev said the drone exploded shortly after 5 am, about 100 metres inside Bulgarian territory, after crossing the border from Romania. He said it was not detected or identified while flying through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.

"There are no casualties or damage to buildings. The area has been cordoned off. We continue to monitor the situation," Radev said after a government emergency meeting. He added that the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded around 200 metres from a Romanian compressor station and about 1 kilometre from Bulgaria's compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.

Radev said, "We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance. Following this incident, we will also redeploy border police anti-drone detection and countermeasure capabilities from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania." Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said the incident would be raised at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council early next week.

Stoyanov said the drone appeared to have carried a significant amount of explosives, given the strength of the blast and the column of black smoke. He also said such drones are difficult to detect because of their small size and low flight altitude.

At first, it was unclear where the drone had come from or whether it was linked to Russia or Ukraine. Later, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence said, "Initial analysis of the wreckage indicates that it is most likely a 'Maya' decoy drone. This type of drone is widely used by the Ukrainian armed forces." The ministry added: "At this time, there is no reason to believe that the incident was intentional."

Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on Saturday that Ukraine and Bulgaria were in "close contact" to establish the circumstances of the incident. Bulgaria and Romania are both members of NATO and the European Union, and the investigation into the drone blast is continuing.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends