Bulgaria Ends Direct Arms Transfers To Ukraine Under New Government

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

SOFIA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Bulgaria, a member of the NATO military alliance and the European Union, will no longer provide arms to Ukraine despite the ongoing war, the country’s new government announced.

While the Balkan nation’s defense industry is expected to remain a major supplier of ammunition destined for Kyiv, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the government was “putting an end to the provision of weapons from the Bulgarian army to Ukraine.”

The policy shift represents a setback for Ukraine as it continues to battle Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Radev said Bulgaria had already contributed enough military assistance and called instead for renewed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

CALL FOR DIPLOMACY

“We have already given enough, while our country continues to suffer socio-economic damage from this bloody war,” Radev told reporters before a cabinet meeting.

Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov confirmed that no additional weapons would be supplied from Bulgarian military stockpiles and urged Moscow and Kyiv to seek a negotiated settlement.

“It is time to seek a just peace that is determined by both sides,” Stoyanov said, according to the BTA news agency.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which signed a 10-year security cooperation agreement with Bulgaria in March covering defense production, intelligence sharing, and energy cooperation.

MAJOR POLICY SHIFT

Bulgaria supplied Ukraine with anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, mortars, anti-aircraft guns, howitzers, and other weapons in 2024 and 2025 after a change in government policy.

Before officially approving military aid, Bulgarian-made ammunition also reached Ukraine through third-country intermediaries.

The new government stressed that private-sector defense production for export would continue, but said weapons belonging to the Bulgarian armed forces would no longer be transferred to Kyiv.

The decision drew criticism from the center-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which said the move risked undermining Bulgaria’s credibility as a NATO ally.

NEW GOVERNMENT

Radev took office in May after his Progressive Bulgaria party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, securing 135 seats in the 240-member parliament and becoming the first Bulgarian party in nearly three decades to win an outright governing majority.

The election was called after the collapse of the previous government amid political turmoil, disputes over budget policies, and public frustration following years of instability that triggered eight general elections in five years.

Although Radev has pledged to keep Bulgaria firmly anchored in the European Union and NATO, he has also advocated dialogue with Moscow and criticized some Western policies toward Russia.

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