Ukraine Rejects Bulgarian President’s Claims That Kyiv Is to Be Blamed for Russia’s Ongoing War

 Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Sofia, Bulgaria July 6, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Sofia, Bulgaria July 6, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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Ukraine Rejects Bulgarian President’s Claims That Kyiv Is to Be Blamed for Russia’s Ongoing War

 Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Sofia, Bulgaria July 6, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Sofia, Bulgaria July 6, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

Ukraine on Saturday criticized Bulgaria's pro-Russian president over his remarks that Kyiv is to blame for Russia’s ongoing war and that supplying arms to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict.

President Rumen Radev had told reporters on Friday, during a news conference in which he spoke about the recent NATO summit, that he wanted “to make it clear that Ukraine insists on fighting this war.”

“But it should also be clear that the bill is paid by the whole of Europe,” he added.

The remarks by the pro-Russian leader are part of his continuing efforts to keep Bulgaria out of joint EU military support for Ukraine.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Sofia in a statement on Saturday said Kyiv was making all possible efforts to restore peace and rejected Radev’s stance that supplying arms to Ukraine fuels and prolongs the war.

Blaming the war on Ukraine, which “was treacherously attacked by its northern neighbor, is one of the most common supporting theses of Russian propaganda and hybrid warfare in Europe,” the embassy said.

It emphasized that the provision of defense funds to Ukraine does not lead to an increase in casualties but means that more lives can be saved.

During the political crisis that had gripped EU and NATO member Bulgaria in the last two years, Radev has used his powers to appoint caretaker governments that shared his dissent over supplying arms to Kyiv. However, his efforts have bene undermined since a new pro-Western government was formed in June.

On Friday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov was quick to counter Radev’s position and put the blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his administration.

“On the contrary, the one who insists on fighting this war is the circle around Putin. They started this war,” Denkov said.

“I say again: the quickest way to stop this war is for this same circle to call on their troops to get out,” the prime minister added.



Man Killed in Rocket Attack on Israel’s Nahariya

People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Man Killed in Rocket Attack on Israel’s Nahariya

People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
People stand near a hole at the impact site, after Israel's medical services said a man was killed, when shrapnel from a rocket struck a playground in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A 30-year-old man was killed by rocket shrapnel next to a playground in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on Thursday, Israel's MDA medical service said.
The Israeli military said about 10 rockets had been launched from Lebanon towards Nahariya. "Most of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified," the army said in a statement.
Channel 12 said three rockets hit the coastal town.
Air sirens went off in a number of locations across northern Israel during the morning, but it was not immediately clear how many missiles had been launched from Lebanon.
"The Israeli government is not safeguarding my security, my residents or the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation like this," Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly told public broadcaster Kan.
"We are being attacked (by Hezbollah) in a massive way with great force," he said.
The Israeli military has inflicted huge devastation in Lebanon since it went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending in troops.

The Israeli military said Wednesday three soldiers, including a 70-year-old, were killed in south Lebanon.

The army announced two soldiers were killed in the same incident including 70-year-old reservist Ze'ev 'Jabo' Hanoch Erlich, after it had said earlier Wednesday that a 22-year-old soldier from Jerusalem "fell during combat in southern Lebanon”

The deaths bring to 52 the army's losses in Lebanon since the start of ground operations.

Another soldier was heavily injured during the same incident that killed the two soldiers including Erlich, the military said, adding he had been taken to hospital.