Ukraine aid critic wins Bulgarian presidential election
Acting Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova, backed by the country’s EU-skeptic government, has a double-digit lead on pro-Western candidate Andrey Gyurov in the country’s presidential runoff.
Iotova, a critic of military aid to Ukraine, has secured 57.66% of the vote, compared with Gurov’s 39.38%, the election commission reported on Monday morning, after counting 99.68% of the ballots.
Iotova thanked voters as well as Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and his Progressive Bulgaria party for their support.
“Their vote means a lot, because we will listen to what they have told us,” Iotova said, according to BTA.
“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Progressive Bulgaria. Mr. Radev, we would not have succeeded without you,” she added.
Radev, who took office in May, halted weapons deliveries to Ukraine and withdrew Bulgaria from the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of countries led by Britain and France that have pledged to help provide security guarantees for Ukraine following a potential peace agreement with Russia.
Iotova also argued that military aid would not help end the conflict. “If we pour even more money into Ukraine and deliver new, more sophisticated weapons, this will only lead to further destruction and many deaths on both sides,” she said during a televised debate last week, according to Euronews.
Gyurov, meanwhile, has backed closer security cooperation with Kiev and argued that Russia must end its military offensive before peace negotiations can advance. He accused Moscow of threatening European security while ruling out sending Bulgarian troops to Ukraine.
The elections took place after multiple cargo vessels were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast and several aerial drones entered Bulgarian airspace, incidents Radev described as “absolutely unacceptable.”
Bulgaria summoned a Russian envoy last month following attacks on two commercial ships, one of which sank. Sofia also summoned a Ukrainian envoy in August after a drone exploded near the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, a major energy route linking Russia and the Balkans through Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. The Bulgarian military said the UAV was likely a Ukrainian-made Maya decoy drone.
