Explosion ignites fire at Bulgarian munitions depot near Tsareva Livada, no injuries reported

A blast during the early hours of Saturday triggered a fire at a weapons storage complex close to the village of Tsareva Livada in central Bulgaria, lighting up the night sky in locally recorded videos. Gabrovo regional governor Kristina Sidorova told reporters that the flames were moving from one warehouse to another within the facility. The site is managed by EMCO, the same company that experienced an explosion at a different location last month, according to a company official.

EMCO is owned by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, whom Bulgarian prosecutors claim has been the focus of Russian-linked attacks, including an alleged poisoning in 2015. In 2024, authorities issued an arrest warrant for six Russian nationals suspected of involvement in sabotage of EMCO depots that stored munitions destined for Ukraine and Georgia between 2011 and 2020. Prosecutors have suggested connections between the recent blasts, the 2015 poisoning, and earlier depot explosions in the Czech Republic in 2014. No injuries were reported from the latest incident.