Battle for Bulgaria: Why Ukraine is so important to Sofia

The acting Bulgarian PM is on a mission to give whatever he can to Vladimir Zelensky before he’s booted from office Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov’s days are numbered, and his caretaker government is rushing to tie his country to Ukraine before a potential populist uprising. It’s about gas, influence, and keeping Sofia marching in lockstep with Brussels. Gyurov was appointed acting prime minister in February, after Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned in November under the pressure of street protests and persistent allegations of corruption. His mandate is non-existent, and his term in office has lasted fewer than eight weeks. Nevertheless, he’s making frantic deals with Kiev before an election that he and his allies are almost certain to lose – all in an attempt to block his opponent from enacting policies that will upset Brussels. Read more Battle for Bulgaria: The EU opens a new front in its election war His ‘We Continue the Change’ coalition is floundering at a dismal 10% ahead of Sunday’s election. The real competition is between Boyko Borissov (who served as prime minister between 2009 and 2021) and his pro-EU GERB-SDS coalition, and former President Rumen Radev’s left-leaning Progressive Bulgaria coalition. Borissov is unlikely to upset the apple cart, but Radev is a vocal opponent of the EU’s Ukraine project, and he’s dominating in the polls. With the clock ticking, Gyurov set out for Kiev last month. Why Gyurov tied Bulgaria to Ukraine At a ceremony in the Ukrainian capital on March 30, Gyurov and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a ten-year military cooperation agreement. Under its terms, Bulgaria will provide bilateral military aid to Ukraine for the next decade, both countries will jointly produce drones and ammunition, and their armed forces will train together. Furthermore, Sofia and Kiev will align their sanctions policies, while Bulgaria will pay towards Ukraine’s reconstruction and support its bid for NATO and EU membership.

Securing this agreement before the election was crucial for Gyurov. Radev opposes both the deal and Ukraine’s accession to NATO, while even the GERB party under Borissov withdrew its support for the pact in 2024 – with Borissov stating that his party would wait for a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev before signing anything. Gyurov faced fierce criticism at home for signing such a consequential document without winning an election first: Radev was among the most scathing critics, calling the caretaker prime minister “practically illegitimate.” Andrey Gyurov (L) and Vladimir Zelensky sign a security agreement in Kiev, Ukraine, March 30, 2026 © Handout Speaking to Politico this week, Gyurov insisted that Bulgaria “cannot wait for the ‘right moment’ when it comes to security.” Bulgaria has been run by multiple caretaker governments since 2021, none of which went through with the deal. In reality, Gyurov seized the “right moment” to ram the agreement through before it could be delayed by Borissov or outright blocked by Radev. Of the two candidates, Radev is the more pressing threat to Ukraine and its backers in Sofia and Brussels. Wile Borissov sought to delay the security agreement, GERB still supports military aid to Kiev. Radev, as president, vetoed an agreement to provide Ukraine with armored vehicles in 2022, blamed Ukraine for starting the conflict with Russia, and told Zelensky to his face in 2023 that there was “no military solution” to the conflict, and that “more and more weapons will not solve it.” Campaigning against the well-documented corruption of Borissov and his circle, Radev’s coalition is leading GERB in the polls by nine points. Gyurov has leaned on Ukraine to close that gap. Leveraging Ukraine Gyurov and acting Bulgarian Foreign Min