Explosion and fire hit EMCO arms warehouse in Bulgaria's Gabrovo Province

Overnight explosion in Gabrovo Province

In the night between Friday and Saturday, 12 September 2026, an explosion occurred at an arms storage depot in Tsareva Livada in central Bulgaria, igniting a fire that spread across the complex. The facility is operated by the arms manufacturing company EMCO, owned by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev. Local authorities reported that no casualties occurred during the blast. Firefighting teams worked through the morning to contain the blaze as it moved across the site. Gabrovo Province Governor Kristina Sidorova described the situation on the ground to reporters.

“Currently the fire covers the area of the facility's warehouse base. It is moving from one warehouse to another.”

History of incidents at EMCO facilities

The Tsareva Livada incident follows an explosion at another EMCO-owned facility in August 2026. Facilities belonging to Gebrev have been subject to repeated incidents and criminal investigations over the past decade. In 2024, Bulgarian authorities issued arrest warrants for six Russian citizens charged with involvement in explosions at EMCO depots between 2011 and 2020. Those warehouses held munitions intended for export to Ukraine and Georgia. Prosecutors stated there are reasonable grounds linking those Bulgarian explosions to the 2014 ammunition depot blasts in the Czech Republic and the 2015 poisoning of Gebrev. Moscow has denied involvement in the incidents.

Political reactions and espionage investigations

The incident prompted scrutiny from Bulgarian political figures over national security and domestic responses to foreign interference. Member of parliament and former minister of electronic governance Bozhidar Bozhanov commented on the blaze on social media, criticizing the reaction of state institutions and noting the history of attacks on EMCO.

“In Bulgaria, ammunition warehouse fires continue to occur. There are too many cases, and they are targeted against EMKO, whose owner was the victim of an assassination attempt by the GRU.”

Bozhanov asked how many fires, explosions, and assassination attempts in Bulgaria and the European Union must occur before authorities take decisive action, asserting that state officials avoid naming Russia. In 2015, Gebrev, his son, and a business partner were poisoned with Novichok. An investigation opened in summer 2015, was halted, and resumed three years later. In February 2020, prosecutors indicted three Russian citizens, alleging they entered Bulgaria on counterfeit documents as GRU military intelligence officers. Investigative outlet Bellingcat published material indicating that GRU agents were present in Bulgaria at the time of the poisoning.

European sabotage patterns

In 2025, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) released a database documenting attacks against European defence companies attributed to Russia. In an accompanying report, the institute stated that Russia uses sabotage and espionage to destabilize European governments, undermine public backing for Ukraine, and degrade the joint response capabilities of NATO and the European Union. According to the IISS report, Russian unconventional warfare expanded significantly in 2022 alongside Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Bulgarian authorities continue their assessment of the Tsareva Livada facility to determine the extent of structural damage.