Nikolay Lavchiev is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has criticized the temporary appointment of a former defense minister as Sofia's ambassador to Kyiv, underscoring a long-running division between the head of state and successive governments over ongoing support for Ukraine against invading Russian forces.
There has been a string of unexplained fires and explosions at locations connected to Bulgaria's arms industry. With mounting evidence of Russian involvement, critics accused Bulgarian authorities of dragging their feet.
A special RFE/RL investigation looks into allegations of Russian sabotage, cover-ups by Bulgarian authorities, and whether Bulgarian arms depots are still at risk as Russia's war in Ukraine enters a second year.
The Bulgarian Judo Federation (BFD) has defended its hiring of a French judo coach involved in a violent domestic incident with a former European champion judoka, saying Alain Schmitt is "a specialist to lead us to the Olympics in Paris" in 2024.
Bulgaria is enduring one of the world's deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks thanks in part to its failure to vaccinate. Doctors, nurses, and other caregivers are part of the problem.
