site.btaUPDATED President Radev: Bulgaria Will Continue to Provide Full Support to Ukraine Within Our Capabilities

Bulgaria will continue to provide full support to Ukraine within our capabilities, said President Rumen Radev at a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is on a working visit here.

In the first hours of the war, Bulgaria, at the highest political level, condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the President said. "We stood together with our NATO partners and EU allies in resolute defence of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within the country's internationally recognized borders," the head of State said.

He added that Ukraine and Bulgaria are connected with centuries of cultural, historic, spiritual, economic, education and purely human links. "Bulgaria joined actively all sanctions despite the social and economic consequences it suffers," he added.

He said that "the most important thing in this satiation is the solidarity and humanitarian assistance" which Bulgaria provides. "Bulgaria opened up its doors and Bulgarian people opened up their hearts and homes for the people of Ukraine," he added.

Bulgaria has provided protection to over 91,000 people from Ukraine and is trying to provide them with food, shelter, medical care, child care, education and jobs, the head of State said.

"We are following with particular concern the development of hostilities and the growing number of civilian casualties. We call for a swift, effective, independent international investigation into civilian casualties and atrocities during the war, and the strictest punishment of all perpetrators," Radev stressed. We are especially concerned about the course of the current military actions and the threat to the civilian population, the numerous Bulgarian diaspora also falls into the zones of military operations, the head of State said.

He expressed hope that the Ukrainian side is doing everything possible to minimize the risk to the lives of civilians and the Bulgarian national minority.

Rumen Radev also said that Bulgaria is ready to continue a programme for treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicemen, which began in 2014 and was interrupted by the COVID crisis. The President added that he expects the two governments to restore the programme as soon as possible.

"We once again call for ending this meaningless and fratricidal war between two Slab peoples he soonest possible so that all of us, within the framework of the EU seek ways to a fast recovery of Ukraine," Radev said.

Turning to the President, Foreign Minister Kuleba said that he is the President and a general, and understands fully what is happening in Ukraine. "It is no special operation, as Russia calls it. It is an all-out war".

He once again thanked Bulgaria for its principled position and for accepting Ukrainian people fleeing the war. 

"We appreciate the Bulgarian position and its support for some of the European sanctions, and we understand that they hurt some of your country's key economic interests," Kuleba said.

He went on to say that it is in the interest of Ukraine and Bulgaria to see the Black Sea become a region of peace and prosperity - not war. "This is why the sanctions against Russia must continue if we want its aggression to stop," Kuleba added.

He also thanked Bulgaria for supporting the EU prospects of his country. 

He believes that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, very few people will twist their tongue to call the peoples of Ukraine and Russia "brotherly". "I believe that Ukrainians and Bulgarians have much more reason to consider themselves brotherly, especially after your sincere support that us".

Ukrainian MP Anton Kisse, who heads the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine and is now on Kuleba's delegation, thanked the President and the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry for the arrangements for the travel of Ukrainian people from the war-hit areas to Bulgaria. "I want to ask Bulgaria to help Ukraine as much as it can" he said.

He also said that "nationalities make no difference in Ukraine and everybody is defending their land". 

A group of people waving Ukrainian and Bulgarian flags had gathered outside the presidential administration building while President Radev was meeting with Foreign Minister Kuleba.