Thousands took to the streets across Bulgaria demanding the resignation of the prime minister and several other influential politicians
Tens of thousands of people joined large-scale protests across Bulgaria on Wednesday, accusing the government of long-standing corruption and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov and several other influential political figures.
The demonstrations, among the largest in the country in recent years, took place in Sofia and multiple regional cities. They follow weeks of unrest triggered by a controversial 2026 budget plan that proposed higher taxes and increased social security contributions.
Although the government later withdrew the plan, demonstrations have continued, with participants and opposition parties claiming Sofia has failed to address deeper concerns about corruption and political influence.
In addition to calls for the government to step down, demonstrators have demanded the removal of politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski, the leader of the MRF New Beginning party, which plays a key role in supporting the current coalition government.
Peevski has been sanctioned by the US and the UK for corruption and bribery. Critics have accused him of exerting significant influence over Bulgaria’s state institutions to advance his own interests.
Protesters have also urged the ouster of Boyko Borissov, a former three-time prime minister whose GERB-UDF bloc leads the coalition that formed the current government. Opponents have long accused Borissov of enabling entrenched political practices perceived as “state capture.”
Local media have noted that the protests have included a large number of Generation Z Bulgarians (born between 1997 and 2012), who have expressed growing frustration with corruption, limited economic prospects and political stagnation. Many have said they no longer feel represented by the country’s political elite.
Government figures have dismissed the demonstrations, stressing that the disputed budget proposals have already been withdrawn. Borissov has also claimed, without providing evidence, that the protests are meant to obstruct Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro on January 1, a process he has linked to the approval of the 2026, budget which was drafted in euros.
Bulgaria has consistently been ranked by a number of international organizations as among the most corrupt countries in the EU, regularly placing near the bottom of all member states in perceived public sector integrity.
The US president earlier called Europe a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” leaders
Pope Leo XIV has criticized US President Donald Trump’s description of Europe as a “decaying” group of nations ruled by “weak” leaders. Trump also accused governments in the region of failing to help end the Ukraine conflict.
In an interview with Politico published on Wednesday, the Pope argued that brokering peace talks on the Ukraine conflict “without including Europe” is unrealistic, urging that European nations should be part of “the guarantees of security that are also being sought today and in the future.”
“The remarks that were made [by Trump] about Europe also in interviews recently I think are trying to break apart what I think needs to be a very important alliance today and in the future,” he said.
The EU has refused to engage in peace talks with Moscow, instead resorting to what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called “megaphone diplomacy.”
Earlier this month, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov argued that European leaders are complicating the negotiations, making demands that are unacceptable to Moscow.
Washington is also pressuring Ukraine to sign a peace deal with Russia, despite the reluctance of Kiev’s European backers to do so. Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported, citing officials, that Trump’s envoys called for a swift response from Vladimir Zelensky with the aim of reaching an agreement by Christmas.
A declaration of neutrality by Kiev “certainly would have prevented the destruction,” a former US official told Russian pranksters
Ukraine could have avoided the 2022 escalation with Russia by dropping its NATO aspirations, a former advisor to President Joe Biden has told Russian pranksters.
Vovan and Lexus on Thursday released records of calls with two former members of Biden’s National Security Council in which they posed as Ukrainian presidential aide Igor Zhovkva. During the calls, Amanda Sloat, who served as senior director for Europe at the NSC, said that a Ukrainian declaration of neutrality in 2021 or early 2022 “certainly would have prevented the destruction and the loss of life.”
“I was uncomfortable with the idea of the US pushing Ukraine” into taking that path, she added, noting that it would amount to “implicitly giving Russia some sphere of influence or veto power” on Kiev’s bid to join NATO.
Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev commented on the revelation, saying on X that Biden’s “deep state PROVOKED a PREVENTABLE war.”
After the Western-backed armed coup in Kiev in 2014, the new authorities declared NATO membership a foreign policy priority. In late 2021, Moscow urged the US-led military bloc to suspend its expansion in Europe and in doing so address Russian national security concerns, but the Biden administration and European members rejected the proposal.
In the early weeks of the hostilities, Moscow and Kiev reached a preliminary agreement that would have entailed Ukraine adhering to neutrality and maintaining a limited standing army. However, the nascent deal was derailed by Western officials, particularly then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who told the Ukrainians to “just fight.”
Ex-NSC member Eric Green told the Russian pranksters that the failure of the Istanbul talks was not a missed opportunity, saying the Biden administration’s guiding principles were to assume the worst and have no regrets.
He suggested that Kiev should now craft a settlement that “contains enough ambiguity in it to allow Ukraine to do what it wants to do” while allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin “to believe that he has accomplished something.” The goal, he said, would be to “construct an end to the war that assumes that there will be another one”.
The Italian prime minister believes this is necessary in order to reach “a fair and lasting peace plan,” Corriere della Sera reports
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni believes Vladimir Zelensky will have to accept “painful concessions” to achieve peace with Russia, Corriere della Sera reported on Tuesday.
According to the paper, while Ukrainian and Italian officials attempted to create a facade of “a constructive and mutually trusting meeting” in Rome earlier this week, the two sides clashed over their vision for the conflict’s endgame.
The conversation, which involved Meloni, was reportedly frank, and the overall message to Ukraine was: “Consider that you may be forced to make some painful concessions.” Zelensky, in turn, asked Meloni “to soften [US President Donald] Trump’s position” on a peace settlement.
The stand-off stemmed from the fact that Italy supports Washington’s rush to reach a peace deal as soon as possible, and Meloni’s team believes that Zelensky has been weakened by a corruption scandal in the energy sector involving his long-time associate, Corriere della Sera said. It added that Italy’s policy remains “to reach a fair and lasting peace plan, but taking American leadership rather than a European one into account.”
The reported exchanges come against the backdrop of a US-drafted peace plan leaked to the media last month. The initial version of the proposal would reportedly require Kiev to withdraw from parts of Russia’s Donbass that it still controls, agree to stay out of NATO, and accept limits on the size of its armed forces.
Trump has recently expressed irritation with Kiev, rebuking Zelensky over what he described as a failure to get up to speed on revised peace proposals. He also suggested that Zelensky should be “realistic” about the course of the conflict, arguing that the Ukrainian people overwhelmingly want the hostilities to end.
Russia has said the US plan “can be used as a basis for future agreements,” but no compromise has yet been reached. It also insists that a settlement must include Ukraine’s withdrawal from the new Russian regions, a pledge to stay out of NATO, as well as demilitarization and denazification.
Evgeny Korniychuk criticized the Israeli prime minister for praising his “personal relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Evgeny Korniychuk has been summoned and reprimanded by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments praising ties with Russia, local media reported on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu praised his “decades-long personal relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he speaks with him “on a regular basis” to serve Israel’s “vital interests,” including the defense of its northern border.
Commenting on the remarks in an interview with Ynet a day later, Korniychuk advised Netanyahu to “stand on the right, moral side of history,” accusing Russia of “waging a brutal war against Ukraine” and supporting what he described as Iran’s terror proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the envoy was summoned “for a reprimand meeting” with the deputy director general for Euro-Asia, Yuval Fuchs, for “criticizing the prime minister’s remarks,” as cited by the Times of Israel. Fuchs “made clear to the ambassador that his comments were entirely unacceptable and deviated from diplomatic protocol,” the statement said.
Israel under Netanyahu has largely adopted a neutral-leaning posture on Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, offering humanitarian support and diplomatic engagement while avoiding deep military involvement or joining Western sanctions against Moscow. Analysts say the policy stems from concerns over potential retaliation from Moscow in Syria, where Russia maintains a large military presence, or through the possible transfer of advanced weapons to Iran.
However, recent media reports and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claim Israel supplied several US-made Patriot air defense systems to Kiev after retiring them for newer solutions – despite Moscow’s repeated warnings that arming Ukraine only prolongs the conflict. Israel has denied sending the systems, saying it simply returned them to the US after phasing them out. Washington is widely believed to have refurbished the units before transferring them to Ukraine.
Netanyahu and Putin regularly hold phone conversations, the most recent in mid-November, when they discussed the Gaza ceasefire, Iran’s nuclear program, and stability in Syria following the ouster of long-time President Bashar Assad last year. Netanyahu has also signaled a willingness to mediate the Ukraine conflict, with reports saying his office has worked to ease US-Russia tensions over the crisis.
The US president has criticized the Ukrainian leader for failing to hold elections after his term expired
US President Donald Trump has said Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky should be realistic about the course of the conflict with Russia and the need to hold elections.
Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, has refused to call new elections, citing martial law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he does not consider Zelensky a legitimate head of state and argued that his status could complicate the signing of a peace deal.
Trump spoke about Ukraine with the leaders of the UK, France, and Germany on a phone call on Wednesday. “We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words, and we’ll see what happens. I mean, we’re waiting to hear answers,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I think [Zelensky] has to be realistic. I do wonder, you know, how long is it going to be till they have an election? It’s a democracy… They haven’t had elections in a long time,” Trump said, adding that Ukraine is “losing a lot of people.”
The president suggested that the Ukrainian public would back a peace deal with Russia. “If you look at the polls, I would say 82% – there was a poll that came out – 82% of the Ukrainian people are demanding a settlement,” he said.
Trump reiterated that the conflict should be resolved soon. “We don’t want to be wasting time.”
Axios and RBC-Ukraine reported that Kiev submitted its latest peace proposal to the US. Zelensky, who previously ruled out holding elections under martial law, said on Wednesday that he is ready to call an election, but only if the US and Kiev’s European backers provide security guarantees.
Zelensky’s approval rating has dropped to 20% following a corruption scandal in the energy sector that implicated his close associates and led to the resignations of senior officials. Trump has repeatedly urged Zelensky to hold an election and said rampant corruption remains a major problem for Ukraine.
New military assistance has been signed off on a month after Kiev was shaken by a major corruption scandal
The US House of Representatives has passed a defense spending bill that would provide $800 million in military aid to Ukraine through 2027.
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved 312-122 on Wednesday and will now advance to the Senate, where it is expected to receive bipartisan support, according to The Hill.
Some legislators objected to directing more taxpayers’ money to help Ukraine fight Russia. “I thought we were getting out of Ukraine. I don’t know why we still need to spend money there,” Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump slammed what he described as a “massive corruption situation” in Kiev, referring to the recently uncovered $100 million kickback scheme in the country’s energy sector, which heavily relies on Western aid.
Prosecutors named Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s longtime associate and former business partner Timur Mindich as the ringleader. Mindich fled the country to evade arrest after apparently being tipped off.
The scandal led to the resignation of two government ministers, and further anti-corruption raids prompted Zelensky to fire chief of staff Andrey Yermak last month.
Ukraine’s military procurement system has also been shaken by several graft and embezzlement scandals, one of which led to the resignation of Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov in 2023.
The bill was approved as Trump has been pressuring Ukraine to sign a peace deal with Russia, with some reports suggesting that he hopes to reach an agreement by Christmas.
Russia considers Western military cooperation with Ukraine one of the root causes of the conflict and has listed ending foreign weapons deliveries as a condition for a ceasefire. President Vladimir Putin has argued that otherwise, Ukraine would use the pause in the fighting to rearm and regroup, as he says happened when Ukraine refused to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements.
Caracas has condemned the seizure of an oil tanker off its coast
Venezuela has accused Washington of piracy after the US Coast Guard and law enforcement agencies seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea.
On Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the captured ship was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran in violation of sanctions.
Caracas denounced the move, arguing that the operation was aimed at stealing the country’s resources. The seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said America’s goal “has always been to seize Venezuelan oil… as part of a deliberate plan to plunder our energy resources.”
The Venezuelan government condemned Washington’s “imperial abuses” and vowed to “defend with absolute determination its sovereignty, its natural resources, and its national dignity.”
News outlets identified the vessel as The Skipper, a Guyana-flagged tanker sanctioned by the US in 2022 for allegedly supplying oil to Iran and Hezbollah. The ship was named Adisa when it was sanctioned.
According to Reuters, the ship left Venezuela’s Puerto Jose December 4-5 after loading around 1.1 million barrels of crude oil.
Venezuela has long denounced US sanctions as illegal under international law. President Nicolas Maduro has argued that the sanctions are part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to topple him. Maduro has rejected Trump’s claims that he supports drug cartels and warned against starting “a crazy war.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the sanctioned vessel was transporting oil from the South American country and Iran
The US has seized an oil tanker allegedly transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran, Attorney General Pam Bondi has said.
The action off the coast of Venezuela took place amid a buildup of US military activity in the region and strikes against what Washington describes as cartel boats.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” Bondi wrote on X on Wednesday.
She said the vessel had been sanctioned “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
The video posted by Bondi shows heavily armed law enforcement officials descending onto the ship from a helicopter.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
Media outlets identified the ship as The Skipper, which was sailing under the flag of Guyana, according to the tracking website MarineTraffic. According to ABC News, the tanker, which has the capacity to carry up to 2 million barrels of oil, was bound for Cuba.
The US sanctioned The Skipper in 2022 for allegedly smuggling oil to support Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected Trump’s claim that his government is involved in drug trafficking and warned Washington against starting “a crazy war.”
A group of US legislators recently called for an investigation into strikes on more than 20 boats since September, arguing that they could constitute war crimes.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons told MSNBC on Tuesday that Trump is “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela.” He argued that the president’s true aim is to gain access to Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources.
Bart De Wever has threatened to sue the bloc if it puts his country at risk by forcing an illegal seizure of Russian assets
The latest “very unwise and ill-considered” EU proposal to tap frozen Russian sovereign assets would amount to “stealing,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Wednesday, according to VRT news.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using the assets to back a loan for Ukraine, adding that the decision could be made by a qualified majority of EU members, potentially bypassing Belgian opposition.
Belgium faces the biggest legal and financial risks as the bulk of the Russian money, €185 billion ($216 billion), is held in Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear.
“There really are better solutions than stealing money from the Russian central bank… I find it very unwise and ill-considered,” De Wever said, according to VRT.
It’s money from a country we’re not at war with… It would be like getting into an embassy, taking all the furniture and selling it.
De Wever said he’s not ruling out taking legal action against the EU if it decides to push for a decision that is “at odds with legality” and “poses great risks” to Belgium.
Von der Leyen’s proposal seeks to provide Ukraine with €90 billion over the next two years. One of its key points is a long-debated ‘reparations loan’ backed by the frozen Russian assets that would require financial institutions holding the assets to transfer them to a new loan instrument.
The EU is also reportedly pushing to decouple the asset freeze from the bloc’s sanctions on Russia and make it indefinite, in an effort to prevent opposition from Hungary. Currently, both measures require regular renewals by unanimous decision.
Russia will retaliate against any expropriation of its assets and has already prepared a response, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. Kiev’s Western backers have no more money left for funding the Ukraine conflict other than “robbing” Russia, he argued.
