The Ministry of Defense honored the memory of the Bulgarian soldiers in the Republic of North Macedonia and in Romania

Delegation from the Ministry of Defense, led by Deputy Minister Radostin Iliev Today, November 2, Bulgaria took part in a commemorative ceremony for Archangel's Stew at the Bulgarian military cemetery in the village of Tsapari, Bitola municipality, in the Republic of North Macedonia.

"Our military history is full of examples of bravery and heroism. The case is similar here, not far from Pelister Mountain and Baba Mountain. In the spring of 1917, the Sixth and Eighth Infantry Divisions - Bdintsi and Tundzhanska - stationed here successfully defended their positions for three months. They manage with skill and bravery to defeat an opponent many times superior to them. In this way, they fail the entire spring offensive of the Entente”, Deputy Minister Iliev said in his speech. He emphasized that the victory was achieved at the cost of many casualties and was supported by the local population of the region. "These officers and soldiers give their lives to protect the national interest. They fulfilled their duty to the Motherland honorably and to the end and deserve our respect and adoration," the Deputy Minister of Defense also said.

The director of the "Social policy and policy of military-patriotic education" directorate took part in the ritual. Dimitar Iliev, Brigadier General Dimitar Khlebarov, director of the "Communication and Information Systems" Directorate; in the Ministry of Defense, cadets from the Higher Air Force School "G. Benkovski“, the Bulgarian ambassador to North Macedonia Zhelyazko Radukov. As a sign of appreciation, wreaths and flowers were laid in front of the monument to the fallen Bulgarian officers and soldiers during the First World War on behalf of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense. In the church "St. Georgi“ a funeral service was held. The celebration of Archangel Stew was organized with the cooperation of the Bulgarian Embassy and the Office of the Military Attache in Skopje.

Earlier, on November 1, Deputy Minister Radostin Iliev and the delegation led by him laid flowers in front of the monument of the 193 Bulgarian officers and soldiers near the village of Drenovo, Kavadartsi municipality, in front of the memorial plaque of the Bulgarian officers and soldiers who died in the Bulgarian-German military cemetery in the city of Prilep and in front of the monument to the fallen Bulgarian officers and soldiers in the yard of the church in the village of Berantsi, municipality Bitola.

For the second year in a row, with a military ritual and memorial service at the international military cemetery "Mirce cel Butrun” near the village of Mircea Voda, Constanța County in Romania, Archangel's Stew was noted. The initiative is of the Ministry of Defense, and the event is organized with the assistance of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Bucharest and the Office of the Military Attache.

The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria in Romania HE. Radko Vlaikov, Brigadier General Ivan Ivanov - Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Headquarters of the Multinational Corps "Southeast" in the city of Sibiu, Colonel Stancho Stanchev – dean of the "Artillery, Air Defense and CSI" Faculty to the National University "Vasil Levski, Bulgarian and Romanian military personnel from the Headquarters of the multinational division "Southeast" (MND-SE) and the NATO Force Integration Staff Element in Bucharest (NFIU-ROU), cadets from Vasil Levski National University, military personnel from the Land Forces of Romania, the orchestra of the Navy of Romania, as well as representatives of the Romanian non-governmental organization "Hero Cult”. The funeral service was celebrated by the bishop of Tomsk diocese in collaboration with Bulgarian and Romanian priests.

In the international military cemetery "Mirca cel Butran" the mortal remains of more than 5,000 soldiers from four national armies - Romania, Germany, Russia and Bulgaria, who died on the Dobruja front during the First World War - were laid to rest. The cemetery is one of the largest outside Bulgaria in terms of the number of Bulgarian soldiers buried in it – about 200, whose tombstones are set aside in a special sector.