Ukraine Invasion Rekindles Divisions Over Russia in Bulgaria

The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia after being painted in the colours of Ukrainian flag in 2014. Photo: Source, Wikipedia, Vassia Atanassova, CC BY-SA 3.0

On Thursday, Yanev complained that the media was using the word "war" about Ukraine tоо freely. "Let's not rush to put a tag on it," he said, referencing the invasion. By contrast, PM Kiril Petkov and President Rumen Radev condemned the attack.

An online petition for the removal of Yanev addressed to Petkov started by the activist and former tennis star Manuela Maleeva gathered support on Friday.

Yanev came under fire for similar reasons in late 2021 when he said that increasing NATO troops in Bulgaria and Romania would only "unnecessarily escalate tensions".

The invasion has been otherwise condemned by Bulgarian parliamentarians with the exception of the pro-Russia far-right party Revival, a new presence in the parliament after general elections in November.

However, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the one-time ruling Communist Party and currently in the coalition government, downplayed the need for sanctions against Russia.

On February 22, the Socialists decided not to sign a declaration criticising Kremlin politics made by the other three ruling parties, "We Continue the Change", Democratic Bulgaria and "There is Such a People".

Bulgaria is meanwhile mulling plans to remove the Monument to the Soviet Army in central Sofia, a major landmark - widely linked on social media as a symbolic response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.

"I will assign the start of the procedure for relocation of the site after … the entire advisory board, minus members of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, supported and expected this step", Traycho Traykov, member of...