Dimitar Stoyanov, the acting defence minister, emphasized that the army of Bulgaria has increased surveillance and intelligence in the eastern part of the country since President Vladimir Putin announced the military mobilization in Russia.
When asked how combat-ready the Bulgarian army is, Stoyanov responded that it is always ready, meaning that “nothing remarkable is happening in the army.” He replied that conducting a second assessment of the army’s readiness was not essential, as some experts believe. He emphasized that the Russian mobilization puts Bulgaria’s national security at risk, but there is no danger of Bulgaria becoming directly involved in the fight with Russia.
Stoyanov added, “while the Security Council could be formed under the Council of Ministers, the NSAC could be created whenever the National Assembly was in session. There are no such signs at the moment, especially given that mobilization is a drawn-out process. It’s not necessary to mobilize for tomorrow. It is a process that involves more than simply equipping a citizen with a weapon and getting him dressed; time is required for the formation and preparation of the necessary construction, and only then the prescribed mission should be carried out”.
Stoyanov specified that there is no information about any Bulgarian citizen with a Russian passport who wants to return home due to military mobilization announced in Russia. If any Bulgarian citizen gets mobilized in Russia, it’s a problem for the foreign ministry as the caretaker government is not responsible for such type of issue.
It is expected that the European Union will apply more sanctions on Russia, and Bulgaria will support them without hesitation. Stoyanov gave the assurance that the nation would support the sanctions since it has permanently been attached to the unifying European position and will continue to do so. Recently, European Union has been considering applying the seventh package of sanctions on Russia.
