In eight days, drones hit five civilian ships in EU waters, three of which sank, and more than 20 sailors are dead or missing.
68% confidence
DefenceEuropean Union
Omissions
The 'in 8 days' framing is imprecise: the documented attacks in Bulgaria's and Romania's Black Sea waters span roughly 5 to 15 October 2026 (about ten to eleven days), not eight.
The real death/missing toll appears to be higher than the claimed 'more than 20' — approximately 28 sailors (10 lost from the Alfa Watan, 11 missing after the 13 October sinking off Bulgaria, 7 missing off Romania on 15 October), so the claim is a valid but conservative lower bound.
The MEP does not name the attacker; press reporting and Romanian authorities attribute the strikes to Russian drones.
No primary official source (Bulgarian or Romanian authorities, IMO, EU/EEAS, NATO) could be retrieved within the search limit; all corroboration comes from independent news organisations.
One search result (Al Jazeera, 23 October 2026) describes an event after the 20 October session date and was therefore not used as evidence of what the MEP could have known.
Sources
SecondaryReutersHeadline: 'Eleven sailors missing after drone sinks ship off Bulgaria'. Text: 'A week ago nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian were lost at sea from a ship that sank when hit by drones in Bulgaria's Black Sea exclusive [economic zone]' — i.e. 11 missing on 13 October plus 10 previously lost off Bulgaria.
SecondaryFrance 24'Romania reported seven people missing on Thursday after two drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea – where several vessels have been hit'; headline: 'Seven missing off Romania after latest Black Sea drone attacks'.
SecondaryEuronews'Drones hit two ships off coast of Bulgaria as government calls emergency meeting'; 'Bulgaria has called off the search for the 10 crew of a cargo ship sunk in a drone attack in the Black Sea, after finding no trace of the [crew]'.
SecondaryBBC News'Seven crew missing after drone attack leaves tanker ...'; 'On Tuesday, two merchant ships were struck by drones further south along the coast of Bulgaria, Romania's neighbour, and one of the vessels sank'.
SecondaryThe Guardian'There was no sign, however, of Alfa Watan's crew of 10. Ships have been attacked in the Black Sea's EU waters in October. Sunk. Damaged.' — confirms multiple civilian ships sunk and damaged in EU waters of the Black Sea in October 2026.