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Bulgaria's defense minister asked NATO for aircraft, air defenses, counter-drone systems and air patrols after two deadly Russian drone attacks on merchant ships off its coast within a week, one of them lethal. Romania also saw a Russian drone strike a civilian tanker in its territorial waters near Sulina, prompting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to call the attacks unacceptable without invoking NATO's Article 4 or 5, a muted response that drew criticism. The incidents have renewed scrutiny of Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev's Moscow-friendly stance, even as Sofia has halted state military aid to Ukraine and left the Coalition of the Willing.