Bulgaria to Supply Ukraine with 'Excess' Ammunition and Weapons

Ammunition and property that will be identified as surplus or unnecessary to the Bulgarian army after analysis will be offered to help Ukraine. This was announced by Acting Minister of Defence of Bulgaria Atanas Zapryanov.

‘We have made a thorough analysis and calculation. It turned out that there are surplus and unnecessary weapons for the Bulgarian army. Part of this property - some ammunition of certain types - can be provided to Ukraine,’ the head of the defence ministry said.

He clarified that the proposed military assistance to Ukraine, which includes surplus ammunition and equipment of the Bulgarian army, is ready for review, and the next package of military assistance is ready for submission to the Council of Ministers.

Zapryanov noted that the military aid consists exclusively of small arms and artillery shells, without any financial support, and that the aid package will include a compensation agreement with the ally that provides money for army modernisation initiatives.

‘This military assistance package will be linked to an agreement with an allied country on compensation, similar to the previous package that we sent and for which we have already received, as I said, about 30 million euros, or about BGN 60 million in compensation, which we are allocating to modernisation projects of the Bulgarian army,’ added the acting Bulgarian Defence Minister. 

Zapryanov also said that the government has not yet decided on the timing of the new aid to Ukraine. The decision will require coordination with allied states and the Ukrainian authorities, followed by the provision of the necessary logistics.

‘The government has to make a decision, then coordinate with allies and Ukraine, providing logistics,’ he said.

The acting minister noted that he plans to purchase new fire extinguishers for military helicopters to extinguish forest fires that are currently raging on Bulgaria's borders.