"In this situation Bulgaria's reaction is relatively normal. It declares to be a loyal NATO ally. Our obligations to the Alliance and the EU, and to the principles of democracy, should not turn into a hostile attitude towards Russia or any other country," former Bulgarian deputy prime minister and defense minister Dimitar Ludzhev told BNR. In his words, there is currently no direct threat of war.

Journalist Peter Karaboyev, deputy editor-in-chief of the Dnevnik daily, does not expect war either. Karaboyev reminded BNR that Ukraine does not control its international border in the section, where the self-proclaimed and already recognized by Russia Donetsk and Luhansk republics are. "The facts are clear - the Minsk agreements are dead," he pointed out. Karaboyev's expectations are that the sanctions to be applied by the West against Russia will be limited.

Anton Kisse, a Ukrainian politician of Bulgarian origin and a deputy in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, told BNR that a working group in parliament was drafting address letters to EU countries and the United States. He said that his country was expecting tougher global sanctions from the international community.

"Unfortunately, we became callous to the news of soldiers dying every day in Donbass. Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement was no surprise to us. He put an end of the Minsk agreements. So our government will move forward more easily. My guess is that Putin will make a bargain with the West. Unfortunately, these conflict territories will be an important point of the deal. This is a conflict of civilizations and of money," ethnic Bulgarian Daniel Benatov told BNR live from Kiev.

IMRO called for the immediate adoption of a "card Bulgarian” - a document that would allow the Bulgarians and their families to come to Bulgaria even if they do not have Bulgarian citizenship. "The state should immediately begin steps to facilitate the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by all our compatriots and their families in Ukraine and Moldova," VMRO said in an address to the Council of Ministers, BTA reported.