Second fire hits EMCO weapons site as Bulgaria investigates sabotage

A second fire in several weeks has hit a weapons facility operated by Bulgarian defence company EMCO, prompting authorities to investigate possible sabotage and whether the incident is connected to earlier explosions at arms depots in the country.

The fire broke out near the village of Tsareva Livada and illuminated the night sky, according to footage carried by Bulgarian media. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the blaze had been brought under control and that no injuries were reported.

Demerdzhiev said investigators would review earlier fires at facilities operated by EMCO and other Bulgarian defence companies for possible links or a common pattern. He added that authorities were “not ruling out outside interference.”

Reuters reported that the latest incident came only weeks after an explosion and fire at another EMCO weapons depot in western Bulgaria. Officials have not announced a cause for either event.

EMCO said in a statement that it believed the latest fire was caused by sabotage. The company cited more than ten comparable incidents involving Bulgarian defence firms since 2011 but did not identify a suspect or publish evidence establishing responsibility for Saturday’s blaze.

Slavcho Dimiev, manager of EMCO’s production facilities, said the site mainly stored ammunition, including a small quantity of medium-calibre rounds. The company also said the warehouse had been inspected seven times since the beginning of the year, most recently about 20 days before the fire.

EMCO is headed by Bulgarian arms trader Emilian Gebrev, whose company has supplied ammunition for export. Bulgarian prosecutors have previously alleged that Russian operatives targeted Gebrev and facilities connected to his business.

In 2024, Bulgaria issued arrest warrants for six Russian citizens accused of involvement in explosions at EMCO depots between 2011 and 2020. Some of the stored ammunition was reportedly destined for Ukraine and Georgia. The allegations have not resulted in convictions, and Moscow has rejected accusations of involvement.

Bulgarian prosecutors have also examined possible links between the depot explosions, the attempted poisoning of Gebrev in 2015 and the 2014 destruction of ammunition warehouses in the Czech Republic. Czech authorities have separately accused Russian military intelligence officers of involvement in the Vrbětice explosions. Russia has denied those allegations.

EMCO criticised the Bulgarian authorities after the latest fire, saying earlier investigations had not produced conclusions and arguing that strategic defence facilities were not adequately protected. Demerdzhiev raised his own concerns about security, storage conditions and the guarding of explosives.

The incident comes during a change in Bulgaria’s policy toward the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Rumen Radev took office in April, while Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said in June that Bulgaria would no longer supply weapons to Kyiv and called for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.