Drone strike sinks ship off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast

Fact-check index: 58/100 — The core factual details (drone strike sinking one of two ships, Radev's EU/NATO appeal, ambassador summons, prior week's similar strike) are accurately sourced to Lidové noviny, but the article adds unsourced framing about a Western-attributed Russian campaign and allied disagreement over Black Sea protection that the source material does not contain.

• Drone strike sank one of two vessels targeted off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast — Matches source: 'Bulharsko ráno oznámilo nový dronový útok na dvě lodě... Jedna ze zasažených lodí se potopila.'
• President Rumen Radev asked the EU and NATO for assistance — Matches 'Premiér Rumen Radev požádal o asistenci Evropskou unii a Severoatlantickou alianci,' though source mislabels Radev as 'Premiér' (PM) when he is in fact President — article's title for him is factually correct but diverges from the source's own wording.
• Radev summoned Russia's ambassador to Sofia, Eleonora Mitrofanova — Matches 'Nechal také povolat ruskou velvyslankyni Eleonoru Mitrofanovovou.'
• Bulgaria recorded a similar strike in its maritime exclusive economic zone just last week — Matches 'Podobný útok Bulharsko zaznamenalo ve své námořní ekonomické zóně i minulý týden.'
• Strike occurred 'early Tuesday' — Source only says the attack was reported 'ráno' (this morning) on the publish date; 'Tuesday' is an inferred specific day not stated verbatim in the excerpt.
• The strike is part of a pattern of attacks on shipping and energy infrastructure that Western governments have tied to Moscow's campaign against Ukraine-linked vessels and supply routes — Source material contains no mention of Western governments attributing these strikes to Russia, nor any reference to energy infrastructure attacks — this is added context not found in the cited article.
• Bulgaria 'has increasingly found itself exposed to that campaign' — Presumes an established Russian campaign against Bulgaria that the source does not state or attribute.
• By appealing to Brussels/NATO instead of handling it bilaterally with Moscow, Sofia is seeking a collective response — Reasonable inference from the sourced fact that Radev asked EU/NATO for help, but framed as analysis beyond what the source explicitly says.
• This raises pressure on allies who have so far debated, but not agreed, how to protect Black Sea shipping lanes and undersea energy links — No mention in the source material of ongoing allied debate over Black Sea protection measures; this appears to be unsourced added context.
• Hypothesis in callout that repeated strikes reflect a deliberate campaign to pressure a NATO member, explicitly noting source does not identify attackers or confirm Russian responsibility — Appropriately flagged as speculative and self-qualified; the factual anchor (two strikes in a week) is supported, but the hypothesis itself remains unverified by the source.