‘We Have Done Enough’: Bulgaria Rejects Ukraine’s Plea for Heavy Weapons

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in Brussels in May 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

"We'll do what we have promised to do and there's no need to reignite the debate every two weeks. We've supported the incoming refugees, we have sent all kinds of humanitarian aid, we have also been involved with repairing Ukraine's heavy weapons and we're in line with all sanctions against Russia," Petkov told local media in response to the plea for more military aid.

In a TV interview on Friday, Kyiv's ambassador, Vitaliy Moskalenko, said that Bulgaria has old Soviet weaponry that could be useful for Ukraine's defence against the Russian invasion, from missile systems to howitzers.

Since the beginning of the war, Bulgaria has been dodging sending ammunition to Kyiv as the topic is divisive in the country's ruling coalition, which includes the pro-Kremlin Bulgarian Socialist Party.

However, Petkov met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 28 and came up with a deal that satisfied everyone at the time: the two leaders agreed that Bulgarian factories would repair Ukraine's heavy weapons and that the port of Varna would become a hub for Ukraine's grain exports, without mentioning the sale of ammunition.

"We've done enough and we'll continue to support Ukraine," added Petkov.

In his recent interviews, Moskalenko has confirmed that Bulgaria is indeed involved in the process of fixing Ukraine's heavy military equipment: 80 tanks in need of repair are to be transferred to Bulgaria in the next few days.

Kornelia Ninova, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Deputy Prime Minister and also Minister of Economy and Industry, said on Monday that "there is no need for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fulfill Ukraine's...