Bulgaria moves to end arms support for Ukraine, citing need for 'more people' in armed forces
Photo: Dimitar Stoyanov (Getty Images)
The newly appointed Bulgarian government plans to halt arms supplies to Ukraine. Instead of military support, Sofia is calling for negotiations, states Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, as reported by Bloomberg.
"Ukraine needs more people, not more armament," he said.
The head of Bulgaria’s defense ministry also called for a "just peace" to be determined with the participation of both sides of the conflict.
This rhetoric closely aligns with the position of the country’s prime minister, Rumen Radev. He has repeatedly stressed that the war cannot be ended on the battlefield alone and has consistently opposed military support for Kyiv from the EU.
Additionally, the head of the Bulgarian government called for the lifting of economic sanctions against the Kremlin, arguing that such restrictions are causing serious damage to the European economy.
At the same time, the prime minister, who took office last month, pledged to strengthen Bulgaria’s role in shaping joint EU decisions.
Key role in the war
Bulgaria is one of the largest producers in the European Union of Soviet-era ammunition, which played a critical role for the Ukrainian military in the early days of the full-scale invasion.
Although Sofia initially refused direct military assistance, Bulgarian shells were still consistently reaching the front line through exports to other EU countries.
Overall, since 2022, Bulgaria has provided Ukraine with 13 packages of defense support, though their value and exact contents have traditionally been kept confidential.
Ukrainian defense enterprises are gradually increasing the level of localized production, but still remain dependent on imported components, some of which are currently in short supply.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine has a political agreement on the purchase of additional Patriot systems. However, the implementation of this deal is being delayed due to financial, legal, and technical factors.
