Political formations and their representatives actively suggest that Bulgaria has sent or is planning to send Bulgarian soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
CLAIM:
February 16,
The official position of BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party):
„BSP: The President should wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court before sending troops to the EU Mission in Ukraine
Position of the BSP Executive Bureau
Yesterday, the official government of President Radev adopted a decision to provide military and military-technical support to Ukraine, which allows the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of the Republic of Bulgaria in the EU Mission for military assistance to Ukraine.
We voted against in the 48th National Assembly. We called on President Radev to impose a veto. He did not and served the military. We submitted to the Constitutional Court a request to declare this decision unconstitutional.
We call on President Radev to stop the shipment and wait for the court’s decision. Until then, Bulgaria should refrain from including military personnel in the Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine.
We, the Bulgarian socialists, want an end to the war and diplomatic negotiations to establish peace.“
February 19,
Georgi Svilenski, BSP, at the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR):
“And I call on the president and the cabinet to refrain from any actions until the Constitutional Court has ruled. Because in the end, when the Constitutional Court makes its ruling, it will already be too late if Bulgarian, our soldiers, have gone to the territory of Ukraine.”
February 16,
Tsoncho Ganev, “Vazrazhdane”:
„When at the end of last year the Euro-Atlantic metastases in the Parliament accepted Bulgaria to start sending arms to Ukraine, no one heard #Revival that in addition to arms, military units are also being sent.
We voted against it, but that didn’t stop the national traitors.
Today, Radev’s government has decided to send our military, based on this decision.
p.p. I am attaching the very decision of the Parliament and the most important in this case item 3.“
Factcheck.bg collected the facts on the subject.
Fact check:
On February 15, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision to implement the Decision of the National Assembly on providing military and military-technical support to Ukraine, which allows the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of the Republic of Bulgaria in the EUMAM (European Union Military Assistance Mission in Ukraine) for the duration of the mission.
The decision of the National Assembly is from December 9, 2022, and item 3 of it is the one to which the decision of the Council of Ministers of February 15 specifically refers to. The decision does not mention at any point the sending Bulgarian soldiers to Ukraine.
The text of the National Assembly describes the expected Bulgarian participation in the EU mission:
- One staff officer to reinforce the Unit for Planning and Conducting EU Military Missions and Operations in the Kingdom of Belgium;
- Up to 5 (five) military personnel (officers/sergeants) in the EU Multinational Command for General Military Training in the Republic of Poland and/or the Multinational Command for Special Training in the Federal Republic of Germany;
- Up to 50 (fifty) military personnel for training to use the weapons and equipment provided within the framework of EUMAM, on the territory of EU member states, and/or in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Nowhere in the decisions of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers is there any mention of sending Bulgarian military personnel to the territory of Ukraine or any other country outside the territory of the EU.
This is also confirmed in a press release of the Council of Ministers from February 17: “The decision adopted by the Bulgarian government on February 15 of this year is in implementation of the decision of the National Assembly to provide support to Ukraine within the framework of the EU Mission for Military Assistance to Ukraine, promulgated in SG No. 99 of December 13, 2022. The decision provides for Bulgaria to send up to 50 military personnel as a training team along of EUMAM UA, and the training will be carried out only on the territory of EU member states.”
The EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM) aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian army to defend its territories within its internationally recognized borders and to deter and respond to possible future military attacks by Russia and other aggressors.
All EUMAM missions take place on the territory of European Union member states.
According to EU data, so far 24 member states have offered facilities and personnel to carry out the training. These trainings are accompanied by the provision of lethal and non-lethal equipment to the Ukrainian army. The weapons are provided by EU member states and financed by the European Peace Facility.
Fact checked:
It is not true that Bulgaria has decided to send Bulgarian military personnel to Ukraine. On February 15, the Council of Ministers approved a decision to send Bulgarian military personnel as part of an EU mission to train Ukrainian military personnel. All exercises of this mission are carried out on the territory of member countries of the Union.
Translated by Vanessa Nikolova
