Bulgaria supported Ukraine with various military aid in 2023 in connection with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine for the second year. Our country sent arms to Ukraine several times after the parliament passed decisions on military support.
While at the beginning of the year the military aid that our country provides to Ukraine was classified, in December the parliament made decisions that showed the public what Bulgaria will send to Ukraine.
The first decision of the parliament on military support for Ukraine
Bulgaria will send military and military-technical support to Ukraine, the parliament adopted on December 9, 2022. According to the decision, the list of armaments remained classified.
At the beginning of this year, during a meeting of the Contact Group for the provision of defense assistance to Ukraine, the then Acting Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov indicated that Bulgaria provides military and military-technical assistance to Ukraine in fulfillment of the decision of the National Assembly. At the end of March, Stoyanov stated that the caretaker government was not preparing an additional agreement for the provision of additional military and military-technical assistance. “The Bulgarian army has provided what it can; we are below the norms with stocks, so there is no way to provide additional military aid and, accordingly, the munitions that are being sought,” explained Stoyanov.
New government – new military aid to Ukraine
Bulgaria is preparing a new tranche of military aid for Ukraine, the current Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev announced at the end of June. The aid is according to Ukrainian needs and our capabilities, as decided by the National Assembly on December 9, Tagarev added.
On June 26, the Council of Ministers adopted a new package of military and military-technical assistance for Ukraine in implementation of the decision of the parliament. The second package of military aid to Ukraine is very similar in volume to the first one sent by the caretaker government, Prime Minister Mykola Denkov said.
At the end of September, the National Assembly decided to provide Bulgaria with additional military aid to Ukraine, which includes malfunctioning anti-aircraft guided missiles of the 5В55Р type under the control of the Ministry of Defense, and ammunition for automatic small arms with a caliber of 5.56×45 mm that are no longer needed for the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In early December, the Parliament approved additional military aid to Ukraine – malfunctioning, redundant or over-the-top portable anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-aircraft missiles of various types in the Armed Forces of Bulgaria to be used to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense .
On November 22, the parliament approved the provision of armored personnel carriers with accompanying armaments to Ukraine, and President Rumen Radev vetoed them a few days later. On December 8, the National Assembly rejected the veto of the head of state and thus decided our country to send about 100 armored personnel carriers from the warehouses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Rumen Radev has repeatedly pointed out that weapons will not end the war in Ukraine
Our rulers are frantically trying to convince us that by sending military aid they are increasing our security. On the contrary, we all see that this conflict is definitely deepening, the victims are becoming more and more. The more weapons it absorbs, the more dead people and destruction, the greater the risk, the more this war will be waged, the president commented in mid-July.
Acknowledgments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked for the support for Ukraine with a message on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter – ed.).
“I am grateful to the Bulgarian Parliament for reconfirming the delivery of APCs to Ukraine, as well as for the new military aid package. I thank the political leaders Boyko Borisov, Delyan Peevski and Kiril Petkov. With this decision, we strengthen our Europe and defend freedom!” Zelensky wrote.
During the year, there were also various demonstrations in support of Ukraine and the sending of military aid, as well as those against the sending of weapons and for preserving neutrality./BTA, Mykola Trifonov
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2023-12-31 06:48:00
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