With a solemn ceremony on Thursday in the city of Pleven, Bulgaria sent a new military contingent to the KFOR Regional Command-West (RC-W) in Kosovo.
The formation, commanded by Captain Georgi Valkanov, consists of 97 members of the Bulgarian armed forces.
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Defense Radoslav Iliev, Deputy Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev, Commander of the Land Forces Major General Deyan Deshkov, Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Command Rear Admiral Galin Manev, as well as representatives of local and state authorities.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Kanev examined the bodies, while Father Krasimir Krastev from the Holy Trinity Church in Pleven led a blessing for health and success in the mission.
“The service of peace is the service of God,” the priest said during his speech.
In his speech, Deputy Minister Iliev emphasized the importance of the mission: “Participation in the NATO operation in Kosovo is a very responsible task of importance for security and peace in the Western Balkans region. Your mission is to ensure, guarantee and demonstrate the Alliance’s capabilities to maintain security and order in the region.”
Lieutenant General Kanev added that the experience gained in international missions will be valuable not only for duties in Kosovo, but also for the careers of the contingent members.
“In the context of increasingly dynamic changes in the global political and economic landscape, experience in maintaining peace and stability becomes increasingly important,” he stressed.
The ceremony ended with a solemn march of the contingent through Vazrazhdane Square. The contingent will be stationed at the Villaggio Italia Camp, near Peja, in the western part of Kosovo.
Over the next six months, Bulgarian military personnel will carry out their duties as part of the national support element, including positions at the headquarters of the KFOR Regional Command-West and as a maneuver company with a logistics section and medical unit within the multinational battalion of the NATO peacekeeping mission.