Bulgaria decided on Friday to send a hundred armored vehicles to Ukraine, a first for the Balkan country hitherto reluctant to directly help Kiev due to its strong historical ties to Moscow.
Parliament approved by a large majority (148 in favor, 52 against) this proposal by the new Europeanist government, which has launched a new strategy after previous interim governments that were willing not to interfere in the conflict. These Soviet-designed BTR armored personnel carriers, purchased in the 1980s, have never been used.
A large stock of Soviet weapons
The socialists of the PSB, heir to the communist party that governed the country, opposed this decision, as did the young pro-Russian ultranationalist formation Vazrajdane (Renaissance), which denounced “a betrayal and a shame.”
Bulgaria, a member of the EU and NATO, has a large stock of Soviet equipment and weapons and also produces munitions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also visited Sofia in early July to discuss speeding up deliveries.
Since this visit, the government has announced an unprecedented aid package, which probably includes weapons and projectiles, although it declined to give details because of how divided the issue is in the country.
In practice, however, arms factories have been running at full capacity since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The industry’s exports increased, according to data from the Economy Ministry, with goods being routed through third countries before reaching Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
