Two chemical tankers were struck by drones near Romania's Black Sea coast, leaving seven sailors missing from one of the vessels.
The vessels were the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader and the Comoros-flagged Yara J. Both caught fire after the strikes.
There were 12 people aboard Wine Trader. Five were rescued, while searches continued for the remaining seven. The vessel was about one nautical mile outside Romanian territorial waters when it was hit.
Yara J was struck inside Romanian territorial waters. All crew members aboard that vessel were reported safe.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan confirmed that both ships had been struck by drones but did not blame Russia for the attacks. A NATO military source told Reuters that the drones involved were of Russian origin.
The Russian origin of the drones therefore remains an assessment provided by a Reuters source within NATO rather than a fact officially established by Romanian authorities.
The attacks followed a series of strikes on commercial shipping in the western Black Sea. According to Reuters, at least five other cargo vessels had been hit near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the previous ten days.