Bulgaria
Bulgaria takes a stand against a former friend
“Traditionally, Russia has always had a big influence here, but we have been a big surprise to them,” Prime minister Petkov said. “They don’t understand what happened.”
Moscow long counted Bulgaria as its most ardent and reliable friend in Europe. But in recent weeks, the country has joined fellow members of the E.U. in imposing ever tougher economic sanctions on its former ally; offered to repair broken military helicopters and tanks for Ukraine; and expelled yet more Russian diplomats.
The rapid souring of relations with Bulgaria, a poor but symbolically important country because of its historically close ties to Russia, underscores how far off-script the invasion ordered by Putin has traveled. In response, Russia halted supplies of natural gas to Bulgaria by Gazprom last month.
Moscow has also launched cyberattacks, assaulting the server of Bulgaria’s state energy company and crippling pension payments by its Postal Service. “We are under severe attack at the moment,” said Kiril Petkov, the Bulgarian prime minister, describing this as a clear “attempt to derail our government” by stoking domestic unrest.
(source: The New York Times)
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