A few days ago it became clear that Poland had received an inquiry from an unnamed NATO country regarding parts for the MiG-29 fighters that Warsaw plans to provide to Ukraine. Subsequently, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov announced that he had sent an official letter to his Polish counterpart Vladislav Kosyniak about the MiG-29.
Bulgaria's request to receive MiG-29 fighters from Poland, the modernization of the army and the development of the war in Ukraine were among the main topics in the program "Your Day", which were commented on by journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of "Dnevnik" Petar Karaboev and co-chairman of the Atlantic Council of Bulgaria Assoc. Prof. Momchil Doychev.
According to Karaboev, public attitudes in Bulgaria regarding defense are changing, with more and more citizens supporting an increase in military spending. “A survey by the European Council on Foreign Policy shows that a significant percentage of Bulgarians want the costs of arming the Bulgarian army to increase even at the expense of social spending. At the moment, however, it is not clear what actions the Prime Minister is taking regarding modernization“, he stated.
Assoc. Prof. Doychev, for his part, sharply criticized the actions of the ruling party on the subject. “We are observing complete political and administrative dilettancy. Misunderstanding of elementary rules, because this government is trying to explain everything in a populist and demagogic way and serve its diverse electorate. This makes it impossible to formulate a clear domestic and foreign policy orientation of the country“, he said. According to him, the motives behind the request for the Polish MiG-29s raise doubts, and according to him, it is not excluded that the cabinet's decision was based on the desire not to provide the aircraft to Ukraine.
Karaboev emphasized that Prime Minister Rumen Radev has serious expertise on the topic of military aviation and described him as “the most prepared and competent on the topic among the ruling elite“.
The conversation also touched on the topic of the development of the war in Ukraine. According to Karaboev, there are signs that the conflict may enter a new stage. “The war in Ukraine seems to be escalating. "I hear from Kiev that the attitude is that it is very likely that Putin will announce a partial mobilization in the fall - perhaps in the order of 300 thousand people," he pointed out, predicting that a peace agreement is not expected by the end of the year.
According to Assoc. Prof. Doychev, the development of the war shows that Moscow has no intention of ending the fighting. "It became clear that it is not Ukraine, but Russia that insists on waging this war. The partial mobilization will affect the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, which cannot but cause additional discontent," he said.