In brief
Nikolay Denkov, head of Bulgaria’s Continuethe Change party, questioned Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Armed Forces Chief Iliana Iotova over why war has edged closer to Bulgaria despite acknowledging Russian aggression. Citing recent drone strikes and a container‑ship attack, he demanded explanations on protective measures and peace talks. The call follows a Sofia meeting of defence ministers from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey that, according to BTA, focused on security in the Black Sea region.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Continuethe Change party leader Nikolay Denkov urged Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Armed Forces Commander‑in‑Chief Iliana Iotova to explain why, despite acknowledging Russian aggression, “the war is moving ever closer to the Bulgarian border.” According to BTA, the comments followed a series of incidents near the Black Sea, including drone attacks close to Romania’s coast and a container‑ship strike off Cape Kaliakra.
Nikolay Denkov, the leader of Continuethe Change, said:
What decision did they take at this meeting, and how will they protect Bulgarian territory and Bulgarian citizens from the war that they have allowed to reach our shores?
Angering Bulgarian officials, BTA reports that Prime Minister Radev blamed Romanians for the drone attacks after Romania had identified them as Russian. Radev’s statement, as described by BTA, suggested that the Romanian accusations had “angered the ‘peace‑loving’ Putin,” according to BTA’s account. Denkov cited the drone incidents and the container‑ship hit as evidence that the war’s reach is expanding across the region.
BTA notes that the container ship had been struck near Shabla during a trilateral meeting in Sofia between the defence ministers and chiefs of defence of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The meeting’s focus, according to BTA, was on security and defence in the Black Sea region, a topic that heightened concerns about the proximity of war to Bulgarian shores.
Demanding a timeline, Denkov asked BTA which date the government would call for peace negotiations and how it planned to defend Bulgarian territory and citizens. BTA reports that the leader also criticized the government’s diplomatic stance following the Sofia meeting, arguing that it had permitted the conflict to approach Bulgaria’s borders without adequate safeguards.
According to BTA, the Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov reported the container‐ship incident to the public during the same Sofia gathering, adding weight to Denkov’s claims that the regime’s diplomatic choices may have short‑circuited the country’s security strategy. The BTA article documents that Denkov’s criticism is part of a broader debate on the tactical balance between diplomacy and defence amid escalating regional threats.
In sum, the BTA coverage shows that Continuethe Change’s leadership is pressing Bulgaria’s top officials for explanations on protective measures as Russian‑driven hostilities inch closer to national borders. The call for clarity comes amid debate over the country’s diplomatic engagement in the Black Sea region, an issue ≥ of public interest to a global audience that watches the region’s security dynamics evolve.
