32,000 Barrels of Fuel reach Ukraine from Bulgaria Every Day

In the past year, Ukraine bought a huge amount of fuel from Bulgaria, which was produced from Russian oil. This is according to the data of the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, provided to EURACTIV Bulgaria. From January to November 2022, Bulgaria exported 700 million euros worth of fuels to Ukraine, and if the trend continues in December, the total value for the year will exceed 825 million euros.

In the year before the war, Bulgaria exported more than 1000 times less fuel to Ukraine, with a total value of only 750 thousand euros. The current scale of Bulgarian oil exports to Ukraine is so large that it corresponds to about 1% of the size of the entire Bulgarian economy.

This is stated in a publication that coincided with the article of "Die Welt" about the export through intermediaries of Bulgarian weapons and fuels to Ukraine in the first months after the Russian invasion.

Authors Krasen Nikolov and Antonia Kotseva talk to Martin Vladimirov from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CID), according to whom: "It is quite logical that Bulgaria exports more fuel to Ukraine and this will continue this year as well (...) It is important to emphasize that all products exported to Ukraine are either directly produced fuels in Russia or produced in Lukoil Neftohim".

He does not agree with the statement to "Die Welt" by former finance minister Asen Vassilev that Bulgaria has become "one of the largest exporters of diesel fuel for Ukraine and at times covered 40% of its needs". According to him, this share was greatly exaggerated by Vassilev.

Here's what else the article says:

"The main oil export from Bulgaria to Ukraine is gas oil, which forms over 90% of...