Tuesday, March 28, 2023

"Bulgaria refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, joins Hungary and Austria’s neutrality stance"

Bulgaria is an interesting case.
Although not vehemently anti- or pro-Russia you get some hints that there is a lot going on in the Bulgar psyche.

A Soviet-era sculpture that Izabella Kaminska used as the graphics teaser image for a post at The Blind Spot:

That image reminded me that the Sovs. were into intaglio and relief—both bas and high.

Which of course reminded me of some other relief, in this case comic:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SuPiITZGv68krcnCS9dqNjGDOp25IPVsr2N73UWhMDEUBPq_fzqCWivAEDba_9ukhb_muGdh-TO7pDOaA08fgn0RBfnodK42Qakg-Ry6UapHHMMOfHxjtqUqGc-AwgGPDHogU1uneZZh/s1187/Bulgarian_WW2_Monument.jpg

That's the monument in Sofia Bulgaria, to the Soviet soldiers who defeated the Nazis.

Of course that isn't how it looked when it was unveiled, as far as I know Santa doesn't carry a submachine gun, but in 2011 some Bulgarian pranksters decided the statue needed a makeover.

If memory serves, it only lasted one day before the authorities started taking the paint off but it offers a slightly askew insight into Bulgaria.

Here's ReMix News with the headline story, March 27:

For the time being, Bulgaria will not send any military equipment to Ukraine

After Austria and Hungary, Bulgaria has also joined the minority group of European Union countries that refuse to send weapons to Ukraine, news and opinion portal Mandiner reports.

Bulgaria has declared that it will not take part in the EU’s joint ammunition purchase program, nor will it supply fighter jets or tanks to Ukraine, Euronews reports. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is under enormous pressure from opposition parties, but he has said he stands by his position.

“Bulgaria does not support and is not involved in the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine.
However, we will support efforts to restore peace. As long as the interim government is in power, Bulgaria will not make its fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile systems, tanks and other equipment available to Ukraine,” said Radev.

At the end of January, Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and his Austrian counterpart, Klaudia Tanner, said in Budapest that neither country will offer any kind of military assistance to Ukraine in order to “prevent further escalation.”

Although many of its Western allies accuse Hungary of siding with Russia in the war based on its firm stance of not sending weapons to Ukraine, last December Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that his government is simply on the side of the Hungarians....

....MUCH MORE

HT: ZH