War widens in the Black Sea in a test of NATO red lines

A Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Oct. 28. The ship sank after being hit by naval drones, according to the Bulgarian government, while en route from Haifa in Israel to Constanta in Romania. | French Armed Forces / via REUTERS

Reuters

Nov 3, 2026

LONDON/BUCHAREST – After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the U.S.-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.

Three days later, on Oct. 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for NATO in the Black Sea that has left littoral member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.

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