Bulgaria to resume Kostenets firearms factory after 35 years to aid Ukraine

In order to resist Russian aggression that started on February 24 in Ukraine, a factory in the Bulgarian town of Kostenets will resume production of 122 mm explosive shells in the Soviet design. The conflict is still going on one year after it began

By
Viktor Georgiev
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In order to resist Russian aggression that started on February 24 in Ukraine, a factory in the Bulgarian town of Kostenets will resume production of 122 mm explosive shells in the Soviet design. The conflict is still going on one year after it began
In order to resist Russian aggression that started on February 24 in Ukraine, a factory in the Bulgarian town of Kostenets will resume production of 122 mm explosive shells in the Soviet design. The conflict is still going on one year after it began (Image Courtesy-Facebook)

In order to resist Russian aggression that started on February 24 in Ukraine, a factory in the Bulgarian town of Kostenets will resume production of 122 mm explosive shells in the Soviet design. The conflict is still going on one year after it began.

Since the conflict marked its first anniversary, Russian forces have increased their attacks over the frontlines in Donbas and Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian military ministry. Subsequently, the Russian defence ministry stated that 212 Ukrainian soldiers had died due to the bombardment along the eastern border.

Bulgaria has given Ukraine a sizable amount of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict. Still, Ukraine is again demanding sophisticated firearms to defend itself against Russian invasion.

At the end of the Cold War in 1988, the Kostenets factory stopped making 122 millimetre shells. Around that time, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a revolutionary arms race. During the cold war era, several high-tech weapons were manufactured, including spy planes, nuclear missiles, and supersonic jets.

The assembly lines will be back in operation after 35 years. As Western countries attempt to provide Ukraine with the armaments it needs to repel Moscow’s assault, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has converted Soviet-era weapons and ammunition into crucial equipment.

The United States has also proposed that those nations that still own Soviet-made weapons provide them to Ukraine in exchange for more modern high-tech Western armaments.

For example, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Estonia offered their Soviet-made weapons to Ukraine in exchange for funds from the United States.

Moreover, Luxembourg is supplying Ukraine with weapons made in the Czech Republic. According to a document acquired by The New York Times and individuals familiar with the task force’s activities, brokers with funds from the United States search facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Romania for shells, and Britain has established a confidential task force to arm Ukraine.