British News Agency

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on the latest developments in the Black Sea that commercial vessels and their crews had been targeted and that lives had been lost at sea.

Von der Leyen said two commercial vessels were struck today in Bulgaria's economic zone in the Black Sea, just one day after a Turkish ship carrying Ukrainian grain was hit and sunk off the coast of Romania.

Von der Leyen said the exact circumstances of the incidents were still being established, but added that the developments were causing serious concern and that attacks on civilian maritime transport were unacceptable. She also said the European Union stood in full solidarity with its member states on the eastern flank.