Bulgarian Armed Forces

The Sofia Military District Prosecutor's Office charged Bulgarian Brigadier General Dimitar Shivikov with malfeasance in office for ordering his subordinates to renovate his dwelling.

Shivikov was accused of diverting four subordinates from their military duties in Karlovo and using their labour unlawfully for renovating his dwelling in Sofia, daily Dnevnik reports.

About 1000 troops are expected at the Novo Selo military ground for the international drills scheduled to begin April 16.

This will follow another major exercise between March 28 and April 15, according to daily Trud newspaper.

Defense Act changes facilitating the establishment of a coordination center of NATO in Sofia passed second reading in Parliament on Friday.

The legal changes allow Bulgarian military and civilian staff to be part of the local unit of the international organization, according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, will arrive in Bulgaria on Tuesday on an official two-day visit.

During his visit, he will meet with Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev and Bulgaria's Chief of Defense, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov.

Bulgaria has spent a total of BGN 689 177 485 on the participation of Bulgarian military personnel in NATO missions in the period 2004-2014, according to Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev.

Nenchev announced in Parliament that the budget of the Defense Ministry for 2015 envisaged a total of BGN 23 260 000 to be spent on the participation of Bulgarian troops in NATO operations.

Repair works on the MiG fighter jets that are currently part of Bulgaria's aircraft fleet are quite expensive to repair, Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev asserted Friday answering to a question in Parliament.

The Bulgarian Armed Forces are due to take part in the Rapid Trident and Saber Guardian military exercises due in July in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry has said.

Neither of the drills is officially related to the Ukraine crisis, since they are held on an annual basis.

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has said that neither is his country preparing to go to war with anyone, nor is Russia intending to go to war with Bulgaria.

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has refused to issue permission for the holding of a torchlight procession in honour of a Bulgarian army general known for his pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic activities during WWII.

Bulgaria needs to update its defence spending in 2015 to meet its pledge to improve military capabilities made at NATO's Wales summit in September, President Rosen Plevneliev said on Thursday.