site.bta2nd Tundzha Mechanized Brigade Returns to Haskovo from NATO Operation in Kosovo

The 2nd Tundzha Mechanized Brigade of the Land Forces, which participated in the NATO Stabilization Force operation in Kosovo (KFOR), was greeted with a solemn ceremony at Svoboda Square in Haskovo on Wednesday.

“I congratulate you on the worthy completion of the mission and I am glad to welcome you to Haskovo alive and well,” Haskovo Mayor Stanislav Dechev said in his welcoming address to the servicemen.

Deputy Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Mihail Popov noted that during the implementation of the mission in Kosovo the contingent had presented Bulgaria as a reliable ally of NATO and a guarantor of peace and security in the Balkans. He expressed his conviction that the acquired skills and qualities developed during the mission abroad would be applied by the servicemen in the implementation of the three missions of the armed forces: Deterrence and Defense, Support of International Peace and Security, and Support of National Security in Peacetime.

The ceremony continued with the presentation of awards to servicemen for their high professionalism and excellent performance of the assigned tasks during the mission. The ceremony was also attended amongst others by the Commander of the Joint Forces Command, Major General Stanimir Hristov, the Commander of the Land Forces, Major General Deyan Deshkov and Haskovo Deputy Regional Governors Mitko Petrov and Bogdan Kirilov.

The 2nd Tundzha Mechanized Brigade of the Land Forces was sent off to Kosovo in February 2025 from the central square of Haskovo. Before that, the servicemen had conducted their training in the area of ​​the Haskovo Military Formation and in the Dobrich Garrison Training Centre. The operation in Kosovo was the seventh foreign mission of servicemen from the 31st Mechanized Battalion in Haskovo. Previous participations include operations of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan and the EU operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.