Bulgaria Denies Exporting Weapons to Ukraine

Bulgarian Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova speaks at a polling station in the parliamentary elections in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 4 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

"I ordered for a full inspection already on the same day, and the result is that the [government] Commission [for Export Control and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction] has not issued a single export permit to Ukraine," Kornelia Ninova, Minister of Economy and Industry, and leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, one of the four parties in Bulgaria's coalition government, said. 

Ninova added that there is no information to suggest Bulgaria had transferred weapons to Ukraine even before its current conflict with Russia started. 

According to TASS and police in pro-Russian-separatist-controlled Donetsk, a 30mm automatic grenade launcher was used in an attack on the village of Zaitzevo, in the territory of the separatist-held Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, which is recognised only by Russia.

The claims point to the military manufacturer Arsenal, located in the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak, as the manufacturer of the weapon. 

This is not the first time the arms plant has been involved in international disputes. Between 2015 and 2017 various publications alleged that Arsenal was selling weapons to ISIS, which the company denied.

In 2018, former workers at the plant were arrested during a raid by Bulgarian police, seizing weaponry. The plant is temporarily not working until March 4 due to the spread of COVID-19 among workers, and it has not commented on the row. 

On Arsenal's website, the 30mm launcher, cited by the Russian sources, is not among the products offered by the company.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Foreign Minister Teodora...