The most worrying for our country is the war that is being waged in the Black Sea – in Ukraine, not in the Persian Gulf, said the Commander of the Naval Forces, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov. He was among the participants in the international conference on the security of the Black Sea, organized by the Higher Naval School (VVMU) in Varna.
The two-day forum is under the patronage of the Ministry of Defense and brings together representatives of defense, security and international relations from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey, Italy, Poland, Germany and the USA. Among the guests at the conference were the Presidential Security Advisor, Vice Admiral Mitko Petev, the Minister of Education, Sergey Ignatov, and the Deputy Minister of Defense, Zlatin Krastev.
The fact that the war in Ukraine is no longer so present in the media does not mean that it has disappeared, the threats continue and are close to us, Mihaylov pointed out. According to him, the Navy is the one that is facing the consequences of this conflict and daily takes care of the cleanliness of the fairways and the safe navigation of ships.
Mihaylov indicated that the combat fleet will receive new minesweepers after signing a memorandum of understanding and completing the ratification procedures in the Netherlands and Belgium. According to him, this could happen before the end of this year. Mihaylov also said that the fleet is currently working according to the extended budget and expressed hope that the additional efforts made by the Navy will be taken into account when adopting the new one.
An international project aimed at the security of citizens was presented by Prof. Dr. Ognyan Kachev, head of the Career Development Center at the Department of “National Security“ of the Military Academy. According to him, the school's partners are structures from Romania and Hungary. The project, called “Professionals in Action“, consists of six modules, with the ultimate goal being to create a guide for the population on how to act step by step in the event of disasters, accidents or catastrophes, Kachev pointed out. He specified that the school is participating in the development of three of the modules, one of which is for search and rescue in urban conditions with unmanned aerial vehicles. Other modules for which the Bulgarian Navy has a serious capacity are actions in crises and military conflicts, as well as reactions and survival in extreme situations at sea.
The population guide will be digitized by partners in Hungary, added Kachev. According to him, anyone with a smart device will be able to access it. The project is funded by the European Union and should be completed by November this year.