Bulgaria's President: Military Strategy in Ukraine Is a Dead End, Diplomacy Is Key

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has reiterated his stance on the war in Ukraine, stating that the continued pursuit of a military solution is a losing battle. He emphasized that Europe should support the United States in finding the best resolution to the conflict. His remarks came during the presentation of an analysis on the state of the Bulgarian armed forces, attended by senior military officials, including Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov, Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov, and national representatives in NATO and EU command structures.

"And we are witnessing an unprecedented in scale and dynamics change in the security environment of the growing unpredictability in the geopolitical space," said the President.

Radev expressed concern that Europe risks weakening itself through flawed decisions. He highlighted the rapidly shifting security environment and the growing unpredictability in global geopolitics. Reflecting on the recent Munich Security Conference, he noted that the discussions had caused significant debate within the Euro-Atlantic space. The developments at the UN Security Council General Assembly, he pointed out, have further underscored divisions among Western allies regarding their assessments of the war and approaches to its resolution.

The Bulgarian president observed a growing divergence between US and European strategies on Ukraine. While Washington advocates for a swift diplomatic resolution, European leaders have instead reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine’s military efforts in hopes of strengthening its position for future negotiations. Radev dismissed this approach as unrealistic, arguing that prolonging the war would lead to further casualties, destruction, and devastation—costs that Europe would ultimately bear. He stressed that Europe has the greatest interest in actively participating in the peace process and should take the lead in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

"The US insists on a quick settlement of this conflict through diplomacy. What we saw yesterday and with the visit of European leaders to Ukraine is the other approach – continuing military actions and seeking through them to bring Ukraine into a position of strength for possible further negotiations. But the entire course of the war so far shows that this is a utopian hope, it will cause many more victims, even more destruction and devastation of Ukraine, which Europe will ultimately have to pay for," concluded Radev.