Ukraine on Saturday denied targeting Bulgaria after a drone exploded close to the strategic Trans-Balkan gas pipeline linking Turkey to Ukraine near the Romanian border.

Bulgaria¡¯s defense ministry said the drone was of a type ¡°widely used by the Ukrainian military,¡± and the foreign minister summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting on Monday in response, her office said.

Kyiv said it was ¡°in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances¡± of the incident, the latest case of a drone straying into NATO airspace as Ukraine fights off Russia¡¯s invasion.