NATO to send additional patrol planes to Black Sea after drone attacks

The alliance announces after a chain of deadly drone attacks have struck the region.

A cargo ship is pictured in the Black Sea off Krapets, Bulgaria, on October 14, 2026, a day after suspected Russian drones struck two cargo ships off the country's coast [AFP]

NATO is deploying additional patrol aircraft and intelligence personnel to the Black Sea, a spokesman for the alliance said, after a series of deadly drone attacks in the region widely blamed on Russia but denied by the Kremlin.

“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 on Tuesday.

list 1 of 3 NATO says will do ‘anything and everything’ if alliance is attacked

list 2 of 3 ‘Block, blunt, break’: What’s in NATO’s new Russia war plan?

list 3 of 3 Will NATO’s ‘theory of victory’ work?

“The most important thing we can do, however, is to increase our situational awareness in the region through increased sensors and data sharing,” he added.

NATO, along with Bulgaria and Romania, has not directly attributed the recent spate of attacks to any country. Military analysts have said Russia almost certainly carried out the attacks but Moscow has not acknowledged any responsibility.

In an attack on October 5, Romania reported two people dead after their ship caught fire and sank in Black Sea waters. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of being responsible.

The announcement came after NATO’s main decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, discussed security in the Black Sea at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.

“NATO has already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank, including with counter-drone capabilities,” spokeswoman Allison Hart said earlier in a post on X.

‘Dangerous and unacceptable’ escalation

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said that “six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones marks a dangerous and unacceptable escalation”, adding that the Kremlin likely sought to choke off revenue to Kyiv from grain exports.

Kallas warned that the latest strikes were adding to a “perfect storm” facing global food supplies already being battered by droughts in multiple regions and the war in the Middle East.

Last week, seven sailors were reported missing after drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania’s Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze and raising fresh security concerns along a vital shipping route used by Ukraine.

At least five other cargo vessels were hit near the coasts of Romania and neighbouring NATO member Bulgaria over the previous 10 days, with at least 23 sailors reported missing or dead .

在该地区发生一系列致命无人机袭击后，该联盟宣布了这一消息。

2026年10月14日，一艘货船出现在保加利亚克拉佩茨附近的黑海中。此前一天，疑似俄罗斯无人机袭击了该国海岸附近的两艘货船。[法新社]

北约发言人表示，在黑海地区发生一系列致命无人机袭击事件后，北约正在向黑海地区部署更多巡逻飞机和情报人员。这些袭击事件被广泛认为是俄罗斯所为，但克里姆林宫否认了这些指控。

“盟军已经或将向黑海增派海上巡逻飞机、雷达系统、爆炸物排查小组、情报人员、无人机等装备，”马丁·奥唐纳上校周二表示。

北约表示，如果联盟遭到攻击，将“不惜一切代价”应对，以下是清单中的第1条。

列表 2/3 “封锁、钝化、突破”：北约新的对俄战争计划包含哪些内容？

列表 3/3 北约的“胜利理论”会奏效吗？

“然而，我们能做的最重要的事情，是通过增加传感器和数据共享来提高我们对该地区的态势感知能力，”他补充道。

北约与保加利亚和罗马尼亚一样，尚未直接将近期的一系列袭击事件归咎于任何国家。军事分析人士表示，几乎可以肯定俄罗斯实施了这些袭击，但莫斯科方面并未承认对此负有任何责任。

10月5日，罗马尼亚一艘船只在黑海起火沉没，造成两人死亡。乌克兰总统泽连斯基指责莫斯科应对此负责。

此前，北约主要决策机构北大西洋理事会在北约位于布鲁塞尔的总部讨论了黑海安全问题。

“北约已经加强了我们在东翼的部署，包括反无人机能力，”发言人艾莉森·哈特早些时候在X网站上发帖称。

“危险且不可接受的”事态升级

欧盟最高外交官卡娅·卡拉斯周二表示，“10天内疑似俄罗斯无人机发动的6次袭击标志着危险且不可接受的局势升级”，并补充说，克里姆林宫可能试图切断基辅的粮食出口收入。

卡拉斯警告说，最新的袭击加剧了全球粮食供应面临的“完美风暴”，而全球粮食供应已经受到多个地区干旱和中东战争的打击。

上周，无人机在罗马尼亚黑海沿岸附近袭击了两艘化学品油轮，导致油轮起火，七名水手失踪，并引发了乌克兰使用的这条重要航运路线上新的安全担忧。

在过去 10 天里，至少还有 5 艘货船在罗马尼亚和邻近的北约成员国保加利亚海岸附近遭到袭击，据报道至少有 23 名船员失踪或死亡。