Reversal of situation in Bulgaria. While Sofia was reluctant to send military aid to Ukraine until last year. Now almost half of the ammunition and shells used by the Ukrainian armed forces are manufactured in Bulgaria.
1 min
With our correspondent in Sofia, Damian Vodenicharov
It’s been a year since the Bulgarian parliament voted sending military aid to Ukraine, which caused an uproar in the country. The arms industry is a powerful branch of the country’s foreign relations. It is for this reason that the pro-Russian parties strongly opposed this aid.
Today, 40% of the ammunition and shells used by the Ukrainian army are manufactured in Bulgaria. This revelation comes from Defense Minister Todor Tagarev. According to him, the country’s exports, up some 500 million euros in 2023, have been strongly boosted by the sale of arms to Ukraine and allied countries sending aid to Kiev.
A decision far from suiting everyone
This political reversal is not without its detractors, notably the socialist and nationalist parties represented in Parliament. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev also says he is in favor of a “ neutrality » regarding the war in Ukraine.
Many advocate Sofia’s disengagement from arms sales and military aid to Ukraine, which could involve Bulgaria in the war.
The Bulgarian arms industry has also been in Russia’s crosshairs for almost a decade. A series of suspicious explosions in weapons warehouses, as well as a novichok poisoning of the owner of a munitions factory, have cast a shadow over this economic sector which is experiencing unprecedented growth during this period.
Read alsoUkraine/Russia: the other information war