Bulgaria officially refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine for the war with Russia. However, in private, the Bulgarians through intermediaries could already transfer arms and ammunition worth about a billion euros.
Euractiv writes about it.
The Bulgarian arms business has always made good money from conflicts where old Soviet weapons are used. All because there are factories for the production of Soviet-caliber ammunition and other products for the maintenance of Soviet weapons on the territory of the country. In addition, Bulgarian production is characterized by high quality, and therefore has higher prices on international markets.
There are three parties in the current parliament that oppose the provision of weapons to Ukraine. Almost 30% of Bulgarians support Russia in the war in Ukraine, and about 70% believe that the supply of weapons will involve Bulgaria in the conflict. But large state-owned weapons factories are currently 100% full of orders.
The former executive director of the state-owned company Kintex Oleksandr Mykhaylov stated that usually the state issued arms export licenses worth €1.1-1.3 billion. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the total amount has increased to more than €2 billion.
Bulgarian producers sell their products to Poland and Romania, which are already re-exporting them to Ukraine. Mikhailov notes that during the first 120 days of the war, 60 flights departed from Bulgarian airports to Rzeszów in Poland. It is this airport that serves as the main collection point for military aid sent to Ukraine.
- On May 4, the Bulgarian parliament allowed the repair of Ukrainian military equipment at defense enterprises, but refused to provide Ukraine with weapons and ammunition. 200 deputies, including from the pro-Russian BSP party, voted for this decision