Explosion and fire hit Bulgarian EMCO arms depot for second time in weeks
On the night of September 12, an explosion and fire broke out at an EMCO weapons and ammunition depot near the village of Tsareva Livada in Bulgaria's Gabrovo region, the second such incident at an EMCO facility in recent weeks. Bulgarian authorities are investigating possible sabotage, with the interior minister not ruling out external interference. EMCO is owned by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, whose facilities Bulgarian prosecutors have linked to attacks by Russian agents.
Key points
- Explosion and fire occurred on the night of September 12 at an EMCO depot near Tsareva Livada in Gabrovo region, Bulgaria.
- No injuries reported; two guards left the site safely.
- It is the second such incident at an EMCO facility in recent weeks, following an August 10 explosion at another EMCO plant near Tryavna.
- EMCO is owned by Bulgarian businessman Emilian Gebrev; the warehouse stored ammunition and gunpowder, according to EMCO director Slavcho Dimiev.
- Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said authorities are considering possible sabotage and are not ruling out external interference.
- In 2024 Bulgaria issued arrest warrants for six Russian citizens accused of involvement in past destruction of EMCO warehouses that stored ammunition for export to Ukraine and Georgia between 2011 and 2020.
- Bulgarian prosecutors say they can reasonably assume a link between past EMCO explosions, the 2015 attempted poisoning of Gebrev, and the 2014 Vrbětice explosions in the Czech Republic.
Why it matters
The incident touches a Bulgarian defense company whose owner, Emilian Gebrev, has previously been targeted in attacks Bulgarian prosecutors link to Russian agents, and whose warehouses have historically stored ammunition intended for export to Ukraine. As the second such fire at an EMCO facility within weeks, with sabotage and external interference not ruled out, it adds to concerns about the security of European defense-industry supply chains relevant to Ukraine. The event follows similar recent explosions at European defense sites, including in Italy, raising the prospect of coordinated targeting.
What happened
On the night of September 12, an explosion and subsequent fire broke out at an EMCO weapons and ammunition depot near the village of Tsareva Livada in Bulgaria's Gabrovo region. EMCO director Slavcho Dimiev officially confirmed that the warehouse stored ammunition and gunpowder. Gabrovo regional governor Kristina Sidorova said the fire was on the territory of the plant's warehouse base and was moving from warehouse to warehouse. No one was injured; two guards managed to leave the site, and the nearest settlement is more than a kilometer away. Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said authorities are considering multiple versions, including possible sabotage and a link to a previous fire at another EMCO facility in August, and stated that external interference is not ruled out. The September 12 fire is the second such incident at an EMCO facility in recent weeks, following an August 10 explosion and fire at another EMCO plant in the Tryavna area. Following that August incident, Demerdzhiev had initially said the preliminary version was that it was not linked to external factors.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the precise location of the September 12 fire: one places it near the village of Tsareva Livada, while another places it at an EMCO warehouse in the area of Gorni Vyrpishhta; the synthesis describes these as neighboring villages near the same EMCO facility. Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev's framing also shifted: after the August EMCO fire near Tryavna he said the preliminary version was that it was not linked to external factors, while after the September 12 fire he said authorities are considering possible sabotage and are not ruling out external interference. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the Italian government had no data indicating Russian involvement in the August explosion at the former Simmel Difesa plant in Italy, a position that contrasts with Bulgarian prosecutors' assessment of a Russian link to past attacks on EMCO facilities.
Background
EMCO is owned by Bulgarian businessman Emilian Gebrev. Bulgarian prosecutors have linked earlier attacks on Gebrev's facilities and a 2015 attempted poisoning of Gebrev to Russian agents, and see possible links to the 2014 Vrbětice explosions in the Czech Republic. In 2024 Bulgaria issued arrest warrants for six Russian citizens accused of involvement in the destruction of EMCO warehouses that stored ammunition for export to Ukraine and Georgia between 2011 and 2020. In late August, The Telegraph, citing Western intelligence sources, reported that Russia had launched a new wave of attacks on European defense-industry enterprises using local criminal groups. Separately, an August explosion occurred at the former Simmel Difesa plant in Italy (now owned by KNDS Ammo Italy), preceded by a fire, with no injuries reported.