Bulgarian Defense Chief Faces Dismissal After Not Saying ‘War’
Smoke rises over the town of Vasylkiv near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 27.
Photographer: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
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Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov called for the resignation of his defense chief after the former military officer declined to use the word “war” in reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Defense Minister Stefan Yanev, a NATO-trained general who studied in the U.S. and served as caretaker prime minister twice last year, has repeatedly referred to the attack on Ukraine as a “special operation,” echoing language used by Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, he defended his terminology by saying he’s avoiding “militant rhetoric” so that “neither Putin nor NATO close the door for diplomacy.”