Bulgaria's prime minister suggests Western support for Ukraine provoked Russia's Leipzig Airport attack

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev claimed on September 4 that Russia's attack on Germany's Leipzig Airport was likely provoked by Western military support for Ukraine. He posed a rhetorical question: what should one expect when attacking another country with long-range weapons, and will the targeted nation respond? According to Bulgarian news agency Novinite, no Western nation has directly attacked Russia with weapons, only supplying long-range weaponry to Ukraine to aid its defense against Russia's ongoing invasion.

Radev often portrays the West's provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine as "reckless" and accuses Western countries of being warmongers. He argues that Europe is aiming for a conventional victory over Russia, disregarding the possibility of Russian hypersonic weapons. Radev emphasizes the need for Europe to assess the risks and engage in negotiations with Russia promptly, as the war is expanding in scope and the threat grows daily.

In April, after resigning as president, Radev led his new party to victory in Bulgaria's parliamentary elections. Despite Bulgaria's withdrawal from the Coalition of the Willing earlier in the year, Radev has a history of favoring Russia. He blocked an EU attempt to impose sanctions on the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Archbishop Kirill, citing their shared history of battling the Ottoman Empire. In July, Radev revoked Bulgaria's participation in the Coalition of the Willing.