Zoran Zaev’s comments on Bulgaria caused a rift in an outspoken family of his die-hard supporters.

Tanja Milevska, the Macedonian Information Agency correspondent in Brussels, who is normally a staunch supporter of Zaev, criticized the Prime Minister for his comments in which he downplayed the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia in World War Two, and praised its subsequent siding with the Allies and helping push out the retreating German armies.

He humiliated our grandmothers, grandfathers, parents, some of whom are alive and remember. And voted for him. What embarrassment, Milevska said, responding to a flurry of similar comments coming from other erstwhile supporters of Zaev.

But her uncle Borjan Jovanovski, who is close to Zaev and is de-facto part of his PR team, responded to the comment by sharing a Wikipedia article precisely about the operations of the Bulgarian army after the country switched sides in late 1944 and helped in the closing operations against the German army. The article is written using Bulgarian official historic claims, and Jovanovski did not comment any further on the matter, other than this weak defense of his political ally. Many other supporters of Zaev opted to abandon him amid strong criticism or spoke out against him after the bombshell interview was made public.