The latest incident occurred late on Friday at a warehouse located in central Bulgaria. This facility is operated by the Bulgarian arms manufacturer “EMCO,” whose ammunition is used in Ukraine.
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No casualties were reported, and employees were evacuated from the area.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev stated that the fire broke out in one of the complex’s warehouses and caused explosions, but emphasized that there is no danger of the fire spreading.
“We are examining all hypotheses and carefully evaluating them,” he said, adding that the warehouse, which stored ammunition and other explosives, had deficiencies, including inadequate security.
The incident occurred about a month after a fire at another “EMCO” ammunition warehouse nearby.
However, the arms manufacturer claims that the warehouse affected on Friday was regularly inspected by authorities and no violations of regulations were found.
According to the company’s statement, the state is responsible for security outside the ammunition warehouses, and similar recent incidents were caused by “external forces.”
“EMCO” added that human error is impossible.
The company accused the authorities of insufficient efforts to combat sabotage acts against defense facilities in Bulgaria – a NATO member supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
“The negligent attitude of state representatives towards these sabotage acts encourages criminals (…) and allows them to act with impunity,” the statement said.
President Iliana Yotova said on Saturday that she is considering convening the National Security Council – the president’s advisory body that brings together high-ranking political, security, and defense officials.
“EMCO” belongs to Bulgarian defense industry leader Emilian Gebrev, who in 2015 survived an attempted poisoning along with his son and another company executive.
Bulgarian prosecutors have charged three Russian citizens in connection with this poisoning.
Separately, six Russians have been charged with terrorism for four explosions at the country’s arms facilities between 2011 and 2020; authorities suspect these incidents aimed to disrupt arms supplies, including those to Ukraine.
Bulgaria has supported Ukraine since Russia’s large-scale invasion in 2022.
In recent weeks, a series of incidents have occurred at defense companies in European countries supporting Ukraine.
Earlier this month, incendiary bombs were thrown near the offices of a defense company in Munich, Germany, and in August, an explosion occurred at the ammunition factory of the arms manufacturer “KNDS” near Rome.
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