Ukraine aid critic set to win Bulgarian presidential election – exit polls
Acting Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova, backed by the country’s EU-critical government, is projected to defeat pro-Western candidate Andrey Gyurov in the presidential runoff, according to exit polls.
Initial exit polls put Iotova, a critic of military aid to Ukraine, at 50–52% of the vote, compared with 43–44% for Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister.
Iotova thanked voters as well as 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.
