Bulgarian weapons exports up 200% since Ukraine war

Bulgarian arms exports increased by 200% in 2022 when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Bulgarian Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov told state television on Monday.

Last year, Bulgaria’s export of specialised weapons production was worth €1.7 billion, equal to 2% of the country’s gross domestic product.

“The Bulgarian arms industry is developing, and the goal is modernising production. We are trying to ensure a safe environment for the people who work in these factories,” added the economy minister.

Bulgaria is trying to quickly adapt its factories to produce weapons systems and 155-mm ammunition according to the NATO standard.

Almost all of the production in 2022 was exported through intermediaries to Ukraine, sources told EURACTIV. In 2022, Bulgaria exported to Kyiv mainly ammunition for the old Soviet weapons systems, on which Ukraine largely continues to rely.

The export through intermediaries resulted from the policy of pro-Russian Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party, who were in charge of the arms trade last year and refused to sell directly to Ukraine.

Now a pro-Western government is in power in the country, for which the export of arms is not a taboo.

Ensuring the security of the Bulgarian arms industry is also a serious issue for the government because of the series of sabotages against military factories in recent years, for which Russian special services are suspected.

The Economy Ministry claims Bulgaria has taken all the necessary measures to increase production security and people in the weapons factories.

“At the moment, all safety measures have been taken. There are also additional levels of security that have been implemented for each of the sites, not only in the state plants but also in the private factories of the Bulgarian military industry,” said Bogdanov.

Defence Minister Todor Tagarev commented on Sunday that Bulgaria constantly receives requests for what Ukraine needs for defence against Russian aggression.

“We are analysing the possibilities with which our country can help,” explained Tagarev, adding that “the possibility of sending a third package of military aid to Ukraine will be sought.”

“Bulgaria is one of the major producers of ammunition in Europe, the (international) interest in the Bulgarian military factories is very serious, and there are good chances to attract EU investments”, the defence minister added.

(Antonia Kotseva, Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)