Defence Minister: Bulgaria Targeted by Russian Propaganda, Needs Greater Defence Investment

Tatiana Marinova

Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov at the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria conference in Sofia, July 31, 2025 (BTA Photo/Minko Chernev)

Sofia,

31.07.2025 14:20

(BTA)

Bulgaria is among the most heavily targeted countries by Russian propaganda, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said here on Thursday. He was speaking at a conference on NATO after the Summit in The Hague on June 25 and the Bulgarian dimension in 2025-2035, organized by the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria with the support of the Atlantic Alliance Reserve Officers.

Zapryanov said that an important aspect of security is the fight against propaganda. Citing a report, he noted that the activity of Russia-linked websites and social media pages in Bulgaria has increased twelve-fold.

The Defence Minister stressed that the aim of such propaganda is to create the perception among the public that NATO’s decisions in The Hague are meaningless, as well as to sow division among citizens, ultimately undermining trust in NATO and the EU.

"In order to achieve stronger defence capabilities, greater investments are necessary," Zapryanov said. He added that to meet the challenge of rearmament, Bulgaria could take advantage of the European Union’s SAFE (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) instrument.

Zapryanov further noted that the NATO Summit in The Hague reaffirmed the Alliance's commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty clauses and involved the discussion of over 20 classified documents related to deterrence and defence. "I categorically reject claims that small countries did not contribute to the decisions made," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Zapryanov addressed a graduation ceremony of the Rakovski National Defence College, where he stressed that creating the necessary defence capabilities is a priority task of the Government. He also talked about the funds requested under the SAFE mechanism.

/KT/