In brief
On February 26, 2027, Nikolay Denkov urged Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Armed Forces Chief Iliana Iotova to explain why the war is moving closer to Bulgaria, citing recent drone attacks and a container‑ship strike. He questioned the government’s diplomatic stance after a trilateral defence meeting in Sofia and asked when peace negotiations would begin. The post highlighted unresolved concerns over Bulgaria’s security and diplomatic direction.
Nikolay Denkov, the leader of the Change Floor party, posted on Facebook on February 26, 2027, demanding that Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Armed Forces Chief-in‑Chief Iliana Iotova explain why the war, despite Bulgaria formally acknowledging Russian aggression, is moving ever closer to the national border.
The call came after a series of incidents that have raised alarm over the risk of spill‑over from the conflict in the Black Sea. Denkov pointed to a drone attack that struck near the Romanian coast and the following drone strike that targeted a container ship off Cape Kaliakra, emphasizing that these events were appearing in the “black‑sea” area directly adjacent to Bulgaria.
In his post, Denkov urged the government to clarify when it will launch peace negotiations with the aggressor, suggesting that diplomacy has been the only recourse the nation has pursued so far. He asked whether the leadership still believed that diplomacy alone could prevent the war from reaching Bulgarian soil.
He framed his questions around the meeting in Sofia earlier that day, where defence ministers from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey convened. The meeting was advertised as a discussion of “security and defence in the Black Sea region”, but Denkov demanded that the outcomes of that engagement be made public. He stressed the need for concrete action to protect both territory and citizens.
“What decision did they take at this meeting, and how will they protect Bulgarian territory and Bulgarian citizens from the war they have allowed to reach our shores?”
That statement was followed by a short narrative about Prime Minister Radev’s comment that the drone attacks had been “blamed” on Romania, because the Romanian authorities had identified the drones as Russian, a move he said might have angered “peace‑loving” Putin.
Later in the day, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov reported that a container ship had indeed been hit near Shabla, a fact that was noted during the same trilateral meeting. The ship’s damage was acknowledged during a briefing that highlighted the heightened security threat to shipping lanes close to Bulgarian waters.
The Change Floor Leader’s post repeats a pattern of demands that the government articulate its security strategy, particularly regarding the campaigns that have already resulted in strikes closer to Bulgarian shores. He emphasized that the official stance appears to rest on negotiated cease‑fires, but he questions whether those negotiations extend to a broader strategy that includes active defense.
He concluded by stating that the war is “moving closer to us”, referring specifically to the proximity in the Black Sea, and demanded civil reassurance about long‑term protection against conflict spill‑over.
Uncertainties remain regarding when the Bulgarian government will declare its intention to seek direct peace negotiations with Russian forces, how it will respond to potential continued maritime strikes, what the conclusions of the defence‑minister meeting were, and how the nation plans to safeguard its citizens and territory from further incursions.
