An American military aircraft landed yesterday evening at Varna airport. The US flag is clearly visible on its tail.
However, people have begun to speculate whether this is the first Bezmer aircraft.
The aircraft looks like an aerial refueling tanker, although it is possible that it is another type of military aircraft, Nova TV noted.
The airport operator said that they are not allowed to comment on information related to military aircraft.
A little earlier yesterday, residents of the village of Bezmer and the municipality of Yambol held a new peaceful civil protest. It was held in front of the Regional Administration in the city, after which the dissatisfied marched to the municipal building. The discontented spoke out against the government's decision to deploy American tanker planes at the Bezmer airbase.
In her post on social networks, our Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova announced that she had had a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. She assured him that it was excluded that any direct military actions related to the conflict in the Middle East would be carried out from the territory of Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, citizens protested in front of the regional administration in Yambol against the deployment of American planes at the Bezmer airbase. They demanded the cancellation of the decision made by the government and voted by the National Assembly. Among the participants were representatives of political parties and movements, including people from other cities.
The protesters carried posters with the inscriptions “Outside the military planes” and “NO to American planes!!!”. The gathered continued in a procession to the Yambol Municipality building.
The protest was organized through social networks and declared as civil. A preliminary application for its holding was submitted to the Yambol municipal administration on behalf of Stanislav Mitev.
„Our specific demands are that the decision that was made by the government be reviewed and that these planes be removed from the Bezmer airbase. People are very worried about their security, so we want it to be reviewed in favor of the citizens”, Stanislav Mitev, a resident of the village of Bezmer, told the media.
„We did not receive any guarantees for additional security. They said that some additional interception systems would be deployed. For what – "nobody knows anything," Mitev also pointed out.
The protest in front of the regional government and the subsequent procession passed peacefully and in the presence of law enforcement officers.
On July 22, the National Assembly authorized the presence on the territory of Bulgaria of up to eight military aircraft, type KC-135, with their crews, up to 250 servicemen with personal weapons and ammunition and airport equipment from the US Armed Forces. Their deployment at the Bezmer air base for the period from July 24 to October 1, 2026 is to provide support for US operations in the Middle East. The proposal was submitted by the Council of Ministers.
In connection with the decision last Friday, residents of the village of Bezmer, the regional town of Yambol and nearby settlements protested on the road connecting the village with the military airport. Earlier that day, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov and Minister of Youth and Sports Encho Keryazov were at the Yambol Regional Administration to talk to mayors of municipalities and settlements in the region. “Bulgaria is not a target, and will not be a target”, said Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov after the meeting, announcing that the planes would arrive in Bezmer perhaps this week.
The planes have not yet arrived in Bulgaria, and yesterday the Defense Minister said that “this is a complex operation” and usually no advance information is given on when they will be deployed.
Today, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova spoke by phone with her counterpart from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Aragchi, the Ministry's press center reported. In connection with the deployment of American tanker aircraft in Bulgaria, Minister Petrova emphasized that it is excluded that any direct military actions related to the conflict in the Middle East will be carried out from the territory of Bulgaria.