Another Explosion Hits Bulgarian Arms Facility Amid Sabotage Concerns

A fresh explosion has struck a weapons storage facility in central Bulgaria, triggering a fire that spread through several warehouses and raising renewed concerns over safety and security at the country’s ammunition sites.

The blast occurred overnight near the village of Tsareva Livada, in Bulgaria’s central Gabrovo region, according to local officials and media reports. No injuries have been reported.

Gabrovo regional governor Kristina Sidorova said the fire broke out at the storage base and was spreading from one warehouse to another. The flames were reportedly visible from a distance and lit up the night sky as emergency crews responded to the incident.

The facility is reportedly operated by EMCO, a Bulgarian private defence company owned by arms trader Emilian Gebrev. Reuters reported that it was not immediately able to reach the company for comment on the latest incident.

The explosion is particularly significant because it comes only weeks after another blast and fire at an EMCO facility near Belitsa in August. That earlier incident also involved ammunition storage and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of workers, although no casualties were reported.

The latest incident is the second reported explosion involving an ammunition facility in Bulgaria in recent weeks, intensifying scrutiny of the country’s weapons storage and production sites.

The new explosion is also likely to attract attention because of the history surrounding EMCO and its owner.

Bulgarian authorities have previously investigated a series of explosions at arms depots linked to EMCO. In 2024, Bulgarian prosecutors issued arrest warrants for six Russian nationals, accusing them of involvement in the destruction of EMCO arms depots that contained ammunition intended for export to Ukraine and Georgia between 2011 and 2020.

Bulgarian prosecutors have also alleged possible connections between those explosions, an alleged attempt to poison Gebrev in 2015 and explosions at ammunition depots in the Czech Republic in 2014. Russia has rejected the allegations and denied involvement.

There is currently no confirmed indication that sabotage or Russian involvement caused Saturday’s explosion, and authorities have not publicly established the cause of the latest fire. The incident remains under investigation.

The repeated incidents at Bulgarian arms facilities come as the country plays an important role in Europe’s defence supply chain, particularly amid increased ammunition demand linked to the war in Ukraine.