Pro-Russian provocateurs try to worsen the political standoff in Bulgaria

The pro-Russian Revival party (Vazrazhdane) vandalises the EU offices in Sofia where representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament work. They do it while calling on the Bulgarian government to cut off aid to Ukraine. This vandalism was condemned by the European Parliament speaker Roberta Metsola, 44 years old politician from Malta.

The provocation was organised by several NGOs and individuals with pro-Kremlin views. Among the participants, who probably numbered about a thousand, were members of the Revival party as well as members of the Bulgarian parliament.

In a matter of past few weeks, this was their sixth rally, but it was the first time that they resorted to vandalism.

The US and EU have provided tens of billions in military and financial aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, some countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary, have been much less supportive of efforts to help Kyiv. Because of its pro-Moscow orientation and deep ties to Russia, Bulgarina is sometimes referred to as a Trojan Horse in the EU and NATO.

The Revival Party and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the Communists, voted against sending military aid to Ukraine, arguing that such actions could allegedly suck Bulgaria into the war. Under former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, a pro-European politician, Bulgaria supplied fuel and ammunition to Ukraine in the first months of the full-scale war.