Bulgarian military aid will be increased this year, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said on state television BNT, adding that the country will send weapons after they finish analysing the needs of the Ukrainian army and how much the Bulgarian armed forces are capable of giving.
“The help that Bulgaria has given so far is well appreciated by the leadership of Ukraine and its army, as well as by our allies,” the defence minister added. He explained that Bulgarian society should know that Bulgaria is helping Ukraine, as sociological surveys conducted in 2022 showed that nearly 70% of Bulgarians are against sending military aid to Kyiv.
“This military aid will allow, when Ukraine succeeds, in liberating all occupied territories, to help stabilise the region – in the Black Sea, South-Eastern Europe and the Eastern flank of NATO. This is the main reason and understanding for which Bulgaria is helping (Ukraine) “, Bulgaria’s Defence Minister said.
“The aid provided to Ukraine is aimed not only at providing immediate military needs but at ensuring that in the long term, the armed forces of Ukraine will achieve a very high level of interoperability with NATO,” the minister said. Bulgaria does not provide Ukraine with fighters and tanks, but mainly old ammunition that is still usable.
The Bulgarian army is one of the few in NATO with serious ammunition reserves for the old Soviet weaponry, which Ukraine uses in large quantities.
At the start of this year, Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry announced it would order the replacement of old ammunition from the warehouses of the Bulgarian army for approximately €180 million. Unofficially, the Bulgarian authorities commented at the beginning of the year that the sale of these ammunitions to Ukraine is possible. Such a large amount of ammunition could impact the dynamics of the battles in the hot spots of the front line.
Bulgaria is also preparing to join the EU’s initiative to provide Ukraine with one million 155mm NATO-standard ammunition, although there is limited production of such projectiles.
(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
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