Overview
- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said a drone that came from Romanian airspace exploded about 100 metres inside Bulgaria near the Kardam border crossing and close to a Trans‑Balkan pipeline compression station.
- Officials reported no casualties and no damage to nearby buildings, and the area where debris fell has been cordoned off for a forensic and technical inspection.
- Bulgarian army, police and border guard specialists are working to identify the drone type and cause of the explosion.
- Romanian border police reportedly detected the drone’s sound shortly before the blast while Bulgarian officials say NATO monitoring systems did not give prior warning, and Sofia plans to raise the incident with NATO.
- The blast raises energy security concerns because the Trans‑Balkan link carries gas between Turkey, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria, and the event follows similar recent drone or explosive incidents in the region that remain under investigation and unattributed.