Bulgaria investigates drone explosion near pipeline as Russian strikes hit eastern Ukraine

Bulgarian defense officials confirmed that debris from a drone that exploded near a Trans-Balkan gas pipeline station likely belonged to Ukrainian forces. Officials indicated the drone entered Bulgarian airspace via Romania in an apparent accident. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry denied targeting Bulgarian infrastructure and stated that Kyiv is cooperating closely with Sofia in an investigation.

Concurrently, Russian artillery and aerial bombardments across eastern and northern Ukraine left at least three civilians dead and nine injured. An emergency at a power plant caused by shelling cut electricity to approximately 99,000 residents in Chernihiv Oblast. Intense attacks also caused heavy depopulation in the frontline town of Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast, where local authorities reported fewer than 4,000 residents remaining from a pre-war population of 56,000. Furthermore, United Nations data showed July recorded the highest Ukrainian civilian death toll since April 2022.

Sources: Investor.bg, Mediapool, NEXTA, Nova TV, Point