Merz makes surprise visit to Kyiv with new aid, as two merchant ships are hit by drones in the Black Sea

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to Kyiv, meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky. During the meeting he announced a new aid package worth over 1.3 billion euros: approximately one billion earmarked for military support, approximately 350 million for repairing Ukrainian energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks.

This is the second development of the day concerning security in the Black Sea area, distinct and with no connection indicated by available sources to the German chancellor’s visit: overnight, two commercial ships were hit by drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

The incident, which occurred around three in the morning on 6 October, involved two merchant ships. The vessel ALFA WATAN suffered critical structural damage and sank east of the Bulgarian coast; there is currently no official information on the fate of its crew. The second ship, the ABLE, caught fire after the impact and all 18 crew members were evacuated.

According to Bulgarian public broadcaster BNT, one evacuated sailor reportedly suffered serious burns and another a head injury. The information currently comes from a single source, the Bulgarian public broadcaster’s report; no independent confirmation is currently available regarding figures or the circumstances of the attack.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev convened a meeting with the country’s institutions following the incident. Two helicopters and a Su-25 combat aircraft were mobilized for the rescue and investigation operation.

The two episodes — German aid to Kyiv and the Black Sea attack — remain separate matters in today’s news: the first concerns direct support for Ukraine from a European ally, the second an incident on commercial routes in Bulgarian waters for which, at this time, the origin of the drones has not been established. None of the available sources link the two events to one another.