At a meeting of EU leaders in Versailles, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is to insist on financial support from European partners to all countries close to the war in Ukraine. "We first need to see that there is support at European level for refugees, as countries cannot cope on their own," he said. Kiril Petkov also said that Bulgaria should start thinking about a scenario in which Russia stopped gas supply. "I do not believe that this will happen, but the only way to deal with such a possibility is to stop the export of electricity," he added.

From April 1 to May 31, protection of Bulgaria's airspace will be strengthened with the help of two aircraft from the Netherlands, according to a government's decision. The aircraft will not be allowed to use weapons, including warning fire.

"I have no remarks towards the special services," Defense Minister Dragomir Zakov told the National Assembly earlier today. Yesterday, Democratic Bulgaria, which is a coalition partner in the government, expressed fears that the special services did not have reliable information. A forecast that a large-scale Russian offensive against Ukraine was unrealistic was pointed out as an example. "The services provide correct information, but sometimes there are differences in the assessments made, especially in the initial stages of the current situation“ the Minister of Defense said.

There have already been proposals from allies on how to complete the basis of a battalion that Bulgaria has been creating to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, Dragomir Zakov said after the closed meeting of the parliamentary defense committee. He added that the group remained on Bulgarian territory but would be led by the commander of the NATO armed forces.