Bulgaria will continue to help Ukraine in line with the decision of the National Assembly, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov told bTV. "We will continue to support Ukraine as we have done so far. What we have done is based on the decisions of the National Assembly of 2022 and 2023", Minister Zapryanov said further.
The shortage of soldiers has increased from 25% to 30%. The shortage of Land Forces officers is 34%, Atanas Zapryanov said. He emphasized that increasing military salaries will not burden the state budget, where 2.5% of the country's GDP is earmarked for defense. According to Minister Zaptryanov, Bulgaria spends the least on defense compared to its neighbors. In his words, Romania and Greece spend 3% of their GDP on defence, while Turkiye spends 4% of its GDP on defense. Even Serbia spends more, Minister Zapryanov said.
Plovdiv will offer concerts, bazaars and an ice park for the Christmas and New Year holidays to its citizens and guests, the municipality has announced. Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov will light the Christmas tree in front of the Plovdiv Municipality..
On Thursday, minimum temperatures will range from 3° to 19°C, with eastern areas reaching 15–19°C and Sofia around 6°C. The day will be cloudy with widespread rain. Heavy rainfall is expected in western regions overnight and in central and southern..
“Solutions for achieving peace in Ukraine must be based on fundamental principles of the UN Charter, such as sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.” This was stated by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev at the informal video..
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