—🗳🇧🇬 REUTERS: As Bulgaria heads to polls, former president Rumen Radev, is leading the race as he positions himself as the sole EU leader willing to improve relations with Moscow.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇲🇩❌🇷🇺 NEW: Moldova has declared the leadership of Russia’s Operational Group of Forces in Transnistria persona non grata, barring the commander and senior staff from entering Moldovan-controlled territory and effectively trapping them inside the breakaway region.

➡️ Officials in Chișinău say the officers will be detained and deported without right of return if they attempt to cross into Moldova.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇷🇴👮‍♂️🇳🇱 Coțofenești Helmet and two Dacian gold bracelets recovered in the Netherlands and returned to Romania.

The Coțofănești Helmet and two Dacian gold bracelets, stolen in 2025 from the Drents Museum, have been recovered and publicly presented by Dutch police, following a large-scale international operation.

The approximately 2,500-year-old heritage objects were returned by the suspects following procedural agreements with the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office and were officially handed over to the Romanian authorities.
The investigation continues to recover the third Dacian bracelet, still missing.

The case was handled by a joint Romanian-Dutch investigation team, with the support of Eurojust. The authorities had two main objectives: identifying the perpetrators and recovering the treasure.

The theft, committed in January 2025, involved the use of explosives and targeted the exhibition "Dacia! The Kingdom of Gold and Silver"

According to specialists, the helmet is slightly damaged, but can be completely restored, without permanent losses. The recovered bracelets are in good condition.

The artifacts are to be expertized both in Romania and in the Netherlands.

The Romanian state had previously collected approximately 5.7 million euros in compensation for the theft. Part of this amount will be returned, depending on the restoration costs and the final condition of the pieces.

President Nicușor Dan stressed that the Dacian treasure represents an essential component of Romania's historical identity.

For his part, the Dutch Minister of Culture compared the value of the helmet for Romania to that of the famous painting The Night Watch for the Dutch.

Several suspects have been arrested, and their trial is to begin in Assen. Authorities are still trying to recover all the stolen items and determine the exact circumstances of the robbery.

@Wallachian_Gazette

—🗳🇧🇬 Today is the day.

🗳🇧🇬 PARTICIPATION UPDATE: The Central Election Commission announced that 12.12% of activity is already registered by 11:00 AM, compared to 9.55% in the 27.10.2024 elections.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬/🇺🇸/🇷🇺 ANALYSIS: Rumen Radev is seen by many as a leader respected by Trump and a NATO general, but also respected by Moscow.

➡️ This gives Bulgaria a unique position of neutrality where, supposedly, Bulgarian national interests are the priority.

➡️ However, one must wait to be sure of his real ambitions. He hasn't announced them, so he has room to negotiate with everyone to form a government.

ℹ️ Analysis provided by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 PARTICIPATION UPDATE: Agency "МЯРА" has announced 23,6% vote activity by 13:00 PM.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🗳🇧🇬 Rumen Radev: Bulgaria has the historical opportunity to break the Borisov-Peevski model.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 NEW: 103-year-old man exercising his right to vote via mobile ballot in Yambol district.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 Key positions of each major party in Bulgaria

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🗳🇧🇬 NEW: The Ministry of Interior received 181 reports of election violations by 2 p.m.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 26,9% vote activity by 2 P.M.

➡️ Most people end their morning shifts at 17 p.m. so we are expecting a rise in the activity.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🗳🇧🇬 NEW: Over €1,200,000 confiscated and over 370 detained as a result of the Ministry of Interior's actions against vote buying.

➡️ "At 20:01 on election day, I will announce who the champions are and who won Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals for buying votes," announced Interior Minister Emil Dechev.

➡️ He also mentioned "surprises from the Ministry of Interior for those who haven't listened to our advice" to stop activities related to vote buying.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 NEW: Central Election Commission has officially announced 34,63% by 16:00.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🇦🇱/🇽🇰 UNCONFIRMED: Albania and Kosovo might be about to establish a joint Ministry of Defense.

➡️ This claim is circulating on social media but so far lacks any primary‑source confirmation.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 NEW: The sections for voting close at 20:00 but is possible that the voting will continue till 21:00 because of the big queues of people.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 NEW: "Alfa Research" and "Market Links" estimate almost 50% of vote activity, a real achievement if true.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🗳🇧🇬 Exitpolls data from "Trend"

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🗳🇧🇬 Rumen Radev as the Exit polls are coming out: We will look in the same direction with the PP-DB for the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council.

ℹ️ Information reported by our source in Bulgaria.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English