Bulgarian Army to Be Cut by 1/5 - Report

A shrinking by one-fifth is previewed in the ongoing discussions on number reduction in the Bulgarian Army, reports daily newspaper Trud Monday.

According to information received by Trud from sources in the Ministry of Defense, the number of servicepersons is to be reduced by 6,000. At present the Bulgarian Army nominally numbers 32,000, but 2,000 places are unoccupied.

This information is in conflict with earlier reports by daily Standart, claiming that the army is going to be reduced by as many as 16,000.

Monday Trud writes that the greatest reduction is going to be in the infantry, which is allegedly going to shrink by 2,000 and be integrated into 2 brigades instead of the current 4.

Air Forces are to be cut 1,300 servicepersons.

Trud also reports that the naval base at Varna – Bulgaria's biggest and most important historically – will probably also have to close.

The final decision on the army cuts is expected to be officially announced sometime in the fall.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!