For the first time in three years, Bulgaria has allowed a Russian Il-76 to fly over its airspace
Bulgaria allowed a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft belonging to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations to fly through its airspace to Serbia. The Russian aircraft was en route to assist Serbian authorities in fighting large-scale forest fires.
The Russian Il-76 entered Bulgarian airspace from the Black Sea and crossed the country on a westerly course.
The aircraft remained in Bulgarian airspace from 8:14 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. on August 19, after which it landed in the Serbian city of Niš.
On board was aviation equipment that Russia had sent to assist Serbia in fighting the fires. Starting on August 20, Russian specialists were scheduled to join the firefighting efforts in the Deliblatska Peščara area in Vojvodina.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that permission for the Russian aircraft to fly over Bulgarian airspace was granted on humanitarian grounds.
According to Bulgarian officials, Serbia officially requested assistance, after which the relevant authorities issued the necessary overflight permits in accordance with established procedures.
Serbia noted that local services lack powerful aircraft capable of combating large-scale forest fires.
Luka Čaušić, the Serbian government’s emergency response coordinator, stated that the Russian Il-76 is expected to bolster the country’s firefighting capabilities.
The aircraft was met in Niš by representatives of the Russian Embassy in Serbia and Serbian emergency services.
This was the first time in nearly three years that Bulgaria allowed a Russian aircraft to fly through its airspace.
The previous such instance occurred in 2023, when Sofia approved the overflight of a Russian aircraft carrying a Russian delegation. However, at that time, the permission was not actually implemented due to the presence of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in the delegation.
Thus, the humanitarian firefighting mission became an exception to the restrictions on Russian aircraft flying through Bulgarian airspace.
This was reported by the Bulgarian news outlet Nova.bg.
As a reminder, Bulgaria plans to purchase about ten systems for detecting and destroying drones under the EU’s SAFE loan program following an incident on August 8, when a drone exploded on Bulgarian territory. This was announced by Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, in his first months in office, halted military support for Kyiv and withdrew the country from the “coalition of the willing,” according to The Guardian. The “Progressive Bulgaria” party won a decisive majority in the April 2026 elections, after which Radev assumed the post of head of government.
