Tihany Centre for Political Analysis
  • About us
    • About us
    • Director
  • Aims and goals
  • Main target topics
    • European cooperation
    • Hungary from abroad – how others evaluate us
    • Transatlantic relations
  • News and events
  • Conference and workshop in Tihany 2015 May
  • Referred links
  • Contact us
  • Magyar
  • Tihany Centre for Political Analysis – Wien

Bulgaria investigates arms depot blast link to Russia

Prosecutors in Bulgaria say they are collecting evidence about the possible involvement of Russia in explosions at Bulgarian arms depots. Officials claim there may be a link with similar blasts in the Czech Republic.

Bulgarian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were investigating the possible involvement of six Russians in four explosions at arms depots from 2011 to 2020.

The arms stores were holding munitions destined for export to Ukraine and Georgia, the prosecution team said.

Talks with Czech colleagues
Prosecutors’ spokeswoman Siyka Mileva said investigators could reasonably assume there were links between the blasts and munitions depot explosions in the Czech Republic in 2014. They also believe there may be connections with the attempted poisoning of Bulgarian arms trader Emilian Gebrev in 2015.

“The collected evidence points so far, with a great degree of credibility, to the conclusion that the aim of the actions of the Russian citizens was to stop the supplies […] to Georgia and Ukraine,” Mileva said. “Evidence is being collected on the complicity of these six Russian citizens.”

Mileva said the team of prosecutors was talking to Czech counterparts to investigate possible connections. The 2014 explosions in the Czech Republic were at depots that stored munitions Gebrev owned.

Prosecutors claim the blast at Gebrev’s company EMCO in 2011, two explosions at state arms company VMZ in 2015 and a fourth at private arms firm Arsenal in 2020 all had no obvious technical cause.

All were triggered remotely and followed the outbreak of fires apparently timed to allow workers to leave the area and avoid casualties.

 

Disputes with Russia widen
Moscow and Prague are locked in their biggest row since the end of the Cold War, after Czech officials claimed Russian spies were behind the explosions on its soil.

Russia has rejected the Czech allegations as absurd and also dismissed the Bulgarian investigation on Wednesday.

“Either the Bulgarian side knew nothing and only now, after the Czech Republic announced the 2014 incident, decided to outshine the Czechs and look further back into history,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. “Or they knew about it for all this time but did not make it public for some reason.”

Russia on Wednesday expelled diplomats from Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in a tit-for-tat move amid a widening dispute over the Czech accusations.

Ukraine and Russia have been at odds since the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Moscow and Russian-backed separatists in 2014, and an insurgency was launched in eastern Ukraine. There have been tensions between Russia and Georgia since the two were briefly at war in 2008.

(27.04.21. via Deutsche Welle)

Posted in European cooperation |
« Czechs pull back from Russia after bombing allegations
Elections results 2021: Conservatives make gains on English councils »

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pages

  • About us
  • Aims and goals
  • Contact us
  • Director
  • Events and news
  • Main target topics
  • Referred links
  • Tihany Centre for Political Analysis – Wien
  • About us

Archives

  • November 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • March 2016
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014

Categories

  • Conference and workshop in Tihany 2015 May (11)
  • Egyéb (1)
  • English (8)
  • European cooperation (386)
  • Hírek, aktuális események (50)
  • Hungary from abroad – how others evaluate us (127)
  • News and events (24)
  • Transatlantic relations (114)

WordPress

  • Log in
  • WordPress

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Pages

  • About us
  • Aims and goals
  • Contact us
  • Director
  • Events and news
  • Main target topics
  • Referred links
  • Tihany Centre for Political Analysis – Wien
  • About us

Archives

  • November 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • March 2016
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014

Categories

  • Conference and workshop in Tihany 2015 May (11)
  • Egyéb (1)
  • English (8)
  • European cooperation (386)
  • Hírek, aktuális események (50)
  • Hungary from abroad – how others evaluate us (127)
  • News and events (24)
  • Transatlantic relations (114)

WordPress

  • Log in
  • WordPress

CyberChimps WordPress Themes

© tihanypolitics