Other MoA event in Burgas, Karnobat area, Bulgaria on Sun 25th June 2023

"Businesses are running, people are safe. We have taken absolutely all measures, on the part of the state, the local authorities, the management of the specific enterprises, so that we can be sure that people are safe and the Bulgarian industry will not be affected by such types of raids". This is what the Minister of Economy, Bogdan Bogdanov, said today. He made this statement together with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and other institutions, went to inspect enterprises from the Bulgarian military-industrial complex.

The reason is the explosion in an ammunition warehouse near Karnobat, and the inspections were ordered by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov yesterday. The owner of the site, Emilian Gebrev, has already announced that it is probably a case of deliberate actions and the use of the word "raids" by the minister also points to a similar version.

The Director of the National Police Chief Commissioner Atanas Ilikov specified that an inspection of the accident site will begin today. "We will have the opportunity to bring out facts and circumstances that are related to the perpetrator of the crime, if we are talking about external intervention," he added. Ilikov explained that at this stage we cannot exclude versions, because the inspection has not yet started. He specified that after the inspection of the accident scene is done and the facts and circumstances are compared with last year's incident, then conclusions can be drawn.

Bogdanov emphasized that since yesterday there are already additional security measures in the facilities for the production and storage of weapons and ammunition.

Some of them are related to the expansion of the guarded perimeter, which already covers the area outside the fences of enterprises and warehouses. The State Agency "National Security" also analyzed whether more measures are needed. According to Bogdan Bogdanov, better synchronization between the state and business is needed, as well as updated security measures.

He assured the journalists that work is being carried out at maximum security levels in these places, and there is no risk to the production and the people involved in it. The minister stressed that the checks and assistance will be for all locations, regardless of whether they are state or private.

"This is a key industry for Bulgaria and it is important that the state supports them with all its capacity," noted the Minister of Economy.