Accessibility links

Breaking News

New Fire Breaks Out At Gebrev Arms Depot In Eastern Bulgaria


Remains of charred shells from the EMCO munitions depot near Karnobat, Bulgaria, after its previous fire last July.
Remains of charred shells from the EMCO munitions depot near Karnobat, Bulgaria, after its previous fire last July.

A new, powerful fire broke out in a storage room at Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev's EMCO arms company in Karnobat, eastern Bulgaria, the manufacturer told RFE/RL on June 25. This is the second recent suspicious incident at the site after a fire led to a munitions explosion on July 31, 2022. At that time, Gebrev said he was "100 percent sure" Russian operatives were behind the fire, though he acknowledged to RFE/RL that he had no direct evidence. It remains unclear whether any of the Karnobat munitions were destined to aid Ukraine’s defense against Russia's invasion. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service, click here. To read the results of a special RFE/RL investigation into the previous incident, click here.


  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service

    RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service relaunched in 2019 after a 15-year absence, providing independent news and original analysis to help strengthen a media landscape weakened by the monopolization of ownership and corruption.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG