6 Oct, 2022 04:53
Deadly blast hits arms plant in Eastern Europe
The incident took place at a facility operated by Bulgaria’s top weapons producer, Arsenal
An explosion at a Bulgarian weapons factory has left at least three people dead and one other injured, destroying much of the facility and prompting a full evacuation of the premises, according to local officials.
District prosecutors said the blast occurred on Tuesday at a plant run by weapons maker Arsenal in the city of Kazanlak. Though officials initially said the explosion had claimed the life of a 55-year-old man who worked at the factory, they have since confirmed the deaths of two female employees aged 53 and 43. One other woman remains in the hospital after suffering serious injuries in the explosion; none have been named.
“In the workshop where the accident took place, products with… explosive mixtures are produced,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding: “The workers from the neighboring premises were evacuated. A large part of the workshop was destroyed.”
Footage purporting to show the aftermath of the explosion has circulated online, with a large off-white cloud seen billowing from the weapons plant on Tuesday afternoon.
Bulgaria’s leading arms manufacturer, Arsenal produces a range of small arms, explosives and ammunition, and has reportedly furnished the Ukrainian military with weapons at various points throughout the conflict with Russia.
However, while the footage of the blast stoked speculation about a possible “attack,”prosecutors later suggested it was the result of the factory’s “failure to comply with safety regulations” around explosive materials, noting the incident occurred at a pyrotechnics workshop that produced fireworks.
A string of deadly mishaps have occurred at Bulgarian arms factories since 2018, with a lethal fire at the same Kazanlak plant in 2021 killing one employee. Around 20 others have lost their lives in similar accidents in recent years, according to the Washington Post.
https://www.rt.com/news/564135-bulgaria-arms-plant-explosion/
Connected story
5 Oct, 2022 17:55
Bulgaria sees ‘no real benefit’ in supporting Ukraine’s NATO drive
Support for Kiev’s bid, expressed by several European nations, is merely a “political statement,” Bulgaria’s top diplomat says
A joint statement issued by the leaders of several eastern and central European countries in support of Ukraine’s NATO bid carries no actual weight and provides “no real benefit,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said Wednesday. The remarks come as the country refused to join the pro-Ukraine declaration.
“We can support this declaration, from which nothing would follow, because it does not mean fast-track accession [to NATO membership for Ukraine] and, if we do not support it, nothing would happen either,”Milkov said, as quoted by state-owned news agency BTA. “This is a political statement by a group of countries.”
The remark echoed the stance of the country’s President Rumen Radev, who explained his refusal to join the declaration by the drastic changes in the “security environment” that have occurred since Ukraine first announced its aspirations to join the US-led bloc. He stressed that a “decision on Ukraine’s accession to NATO should be made only after the development of clear parameters for the peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” which would last and be acceptable to both sides.
The declaration was released by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia on Sunday, with the leaders expressing their support for Ukraine’s membership bid and urging other NATO allies to “substantially increase” their military support to Kiev.
“We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership,” the joint statement read.
The statement was made in response to the announcement last Friday by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who proclaimed an intention to apply for fast-track NATO membership. The announcement, hailed as“historic” by some top Ukrainian officials, came on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on unification with the former Ukrainian Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, as well as Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The move came after people living in those territories overwhelmingly backed joining Russia in referendums that were denounced by Kiev and its Western backers as “sham” votes.
https://www.rt.com/news/564128-bulgaria-ukraine-nato-bid/