site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Kostadinov Reiterates Criticism of Donations to Ukraine Amidst Bulgarian Military Aircraft Crash

"The truth is that our Army is falling apart and being destroyed by those who run the country," Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said in front of journalists in Parliament, adding that the tragedy is that Bulgaria is suffering losses in peacetime. Kostadinov was commenting the crash of the L-39ZA military training plane near the Graf Ignatievo Air Base earlier on Friday.

According to him, the latest incident with a Bulgarian Air Force (BAF) crew means that the Bulgarian Army is less and less able to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of the country.

"What I read this morning as a declaration [about how Bulgaria’s donations to Ukraine are on the way of sacrificing the Bulgarian armed forces and statehood], to my great regret and to our common Bulgarian tragedy, was confirmed only a few hours later," Kostadinov said. "I wish it were not so, but how long will people continue to die in non-combat while at the same time those running the country donate the few remaining resources of the Bulgarian Armed Forces to Ukraine," he asked. Kostadinov also questioned who will take responsibility for this.  

 "We have been talking about this problem for years, and there was a Consultative Council on National Security specifically on issues related to our combat aviation at the end of 2021," the Vazrazhdane leader recalled. 

Kostadinov explained that the reason for Friday's declaration of his party was that last week he had a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian armed forces. "They literally sought us out as an act of final desperation. What they told us was this, and I quote, 'We are forced to buy the toilet paper even. We don't have basic living conditions in the units, there is not enough food. When we go for training, we don't shoot because we don't have enough ammunition. The equipment breaks down. Our assault rifles are from the 1960s, they are jamming [...] and literally creating a security problem for the soldiers," Kostadinov said.

In view of all this and the fact that soldiers buy their own shoes, camouflage, even things that are related to the daily tasks of their military service, Bulgaria allocates billions for military aid to Ukraine, Kostadinov argued. According to him, it is an outright lie that weapons are being donated that are no longer necessary.