"We need drones for aerial surveillance so we don’t have to use helicopters and airplanes to monitor the Bulgarian waters", said one of the commanders in the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea in an interview with public service broadcaster BNT.

The Ukrainian army claims to have destroyed more than 100 Russian mines in the Black Sea. However, this is a constant struggle.Changes in seasons, weather and climatic conditions constantly bring up new mines, breaking them away from previously laid minefields. The danger of drifting mines in the Black Sea will persist for years after the end of the war in Ukraine, emphasized Captain 3rd rank Miroslav Dobrev.

Due to the war in Ukraine, the Bulgarian Navy is participating in mine-clearing operations in the Black Sea with its minesweeper "Struma", in collaboration with ships from Romania and Turkiye.