According to a report by “Euractiv,” Bulgaria is considered one of the leading indirect suppliers of weapons to Ukraine, exporting record numbers of firearms since the beginning of the war.
It is stressed that only Bulgaria and Hungary, members of NATO and the EU, have formally refused to provide Ukraine with military assistance. On the international market, Bulgarian weapons companies create high-quality, expensive ammunition for Soviet weaponry as well as other items based on it.
A recent declaration by the Bulgarian parliament to supply the military with weapons, ammunition, and other vital goods for war was rejected by several Bulgarian countries, including President Radev. He claimed that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is continuing, but Bulgaria is not in a position to transfer heavy weaponry to that nation.
Defence minister Stoyanov backed up his remarks by rejecting the parliament’s resolution and claimed that ally USA does not provide these weapons for free.
The parliament’s decision is being met with mixed reactions from the people. Most Bulgarians opposed the parliament’s conclusion and protested in numerous Ukrainian provinces to show their dislike of Ukrainians. Many Ukrainian refugees who fled their nation to escape the conflict’s fatal effects and protect their families have found safety in Bulgaria.
Due to a shortage of available space and the fact that the current camps are already at capacity, the refugees are starting to become a significant problem for the country.
According to Alexander Mihailov, a former executive director of “Kintex,” weapons are shipped from Bulgaria through the state-run business, whose trade has reached record levels this year. Most weapons sold by Bulgarian arms producers are exported to Ukraine from Poland and Romania.
More than 2 billion euros worth of permitted arms exports has been made since the start of the Ukraine War. As a point of comparison, the export of Bulgarian weapons manufacturing in 2016 and 2017 is used, with the sold production valued between 1.1 and 1.3 billion euros.
