The Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, made ludicrous complaints about Bulgaria’s support for the provision of ammunition and crucial assistance to Ukraine.
She emphasised that in 1878 and 1944, Russia freed Bulgaria twice. Bulgaria’s rejection of Russia will have repercussions. Russia assisted Bulgaria in gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire. If Russia hadn’t helped Bulgaria in the thirteenth century, becoming independent from the Turks would never have been possible.
Eleonora vehemently disagreed with the Bulgarian parliament’s decision to supply Ukraine with weapons and other military equipment because she believed that such a move would be viewed as an assault against Russia.
She adds that despite Bulgaria’s 2004 NATO membership, Russia still views it as a close ally. Russia assisted Bulgaria in regaining independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Then, in honour of the Russian soldiers that supported Bulgaria during that battle, Bulgarians constructed an Orthodox church in Sofia that bears the name of the Russian Orthodox saint Alexander Nevsky.
To demonstrate the friendly ties between Russia and Bulgaria, other monuments were constructed in Sofia and Burgas. However, their worries have gotten worse since Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Due to Bulgaria’s support for Ukraine, various issues have arisen since Russia’s largest gas company, Gazprom, shut off its supply in April of this year. Additionally, by shutting down the Nord Stream pipeline, Russia almost sabotaged all of Europe’s supplies.
Bulgaria and Poland are the two countries most impacted in Europe by Russia’s decision to stop supplying gas to those who supported Ukraine.
Russian gas supplies were a weapon used by Russia against Bulgaria and the EU for assisting Ukraine in countering the invasion. However, Bulgaria is able to meet its ongoing gas supply needs during the winter.
Bulgaria turned out all of the lights on Soviet-built monuments on their independence day on President Radev’s orders to protest Russian aggression toward Ukraine.