Bulgaria is investigating the cause of an overnight fire at an ammunition storage site operated by the private defence company EMCO. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev stated that authorities are not ruling out outside interference in the incident, which occurred in central Bulgaria. No injuries were reported, though the blaze triggered a series of explosions.

EMCO, whose weapons are used by Ukraine against Russian forces, described the fire as sabotage and ruled out human error. The company did not specify who might be responsible. The incident follows a similar fire and blasts at another EMCO warehouse in the area last month. EMCO noted that the facility burned this time had not been used for months and was inspected 20 days prior, with full regulatory compliance confirmed.

The company cited a series of similar incidents at Bulgarian defence firms since 2011, stating the latest event was 'no exception to the series of acts of sabotage against the Bulgarian defence industry.' EMCO urged Bulgaria, as an EU and NATO member state, to join efforts to prevent and neutralise such attacks. The firm is run by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, who Bulgarian prosecutors allege has been targeted by Russian agents.

A poisoning attempt in 2015 of Gebrev, his son, and another employee was reported, with three Russian nationals later charged in absentia for attempted murder. Bulgaria remains a major weapons supplier to Ukraine, despite recent state-owned arms supply halts. Private defence companies continue to transfer arms to Ukraine. Russia is accused of escalating its sabotage campaign across Europe, with Germany recently blaming Moscow for an August drone attack at Leipzig's airport, a claim denied by Moscow as 'absurd.'

Other European countries, including Italy and Estonia, have reported suspicious fires at defence facilities, with some blaming Russia. The exact cause of the fire and the identity of any potential saboteurs remain unknown, pending the investigation's findings.