Bulgarian President: Those who Insist on Military Aid to Ukraine do so out of Irresponsibility or Ignorance

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said "those who insisted on sending military aid to Ukraine were either behaving irresponsibly because they could not assess the risks to Bulgaria or because they were ignorant."

During a visit to Plovdiv, the head of state said that in the first hours of the war he had convened a consultative meeting of the country's government, where they clearly and unequivocally condemned the Russian Federation's aggression in Ukraine. The President stressed that Bulgaria is a loyal member of NATO and the EU and is in solidarity with our partners and allies, but "there is a feeling that many people speak without having their own opinion" and speak according to the requirements of our partners.

"People who instill these militaristic sentiments and constantly insist on providing weapons do not make significant differences. Unlike our partners, Bulgaria is much closer to this conflict - we have a real common border on the Black Sea. We also have a huge historical diaspora in Ukraine. We are much more dependent on Russian gas. So the people who make the decision must take into account the security of the Bulgarians. Others, in my opinion, do so out of ignorance without even assessing the risk", said Rumen Radev.

The head of state asked several questions to politicians who want to provide military assistance to Ukraine: to assess the level of air security for those living from Durankulak to Sofia; the condition of the Bulgarian fighter aircraft; how long our Euro-Atlantic allies will be in the country - the Dutch Air Force is here until the end of May, whether there are any plans after that and what is the state of the Bulgarian radar system.

"Let these people answer these questions. Do they...