War in Ukraine: Bulgaria stops arms deliveries to kyiv

Freshly appointed after the legislative elections last May, the new Bulgarian Prime Minister – from the Progressive Bulgaria party – claims an approach to the conflict based on the search for a “diplomatic solution”, also invoking the “socio-economic losses” suffered by his country.

After four years of military support for kyiv and thirteen aid “packages” sent to Ukraine since the Russian invasion of February 2022, Bulgaria is making a turnaround defended by its new government. Prime Minister Rumen Radev, former president of the country and supporter of a conciliatory line vis-à-vis Moscow,

indicated on Wednesday June 10 that Bulgaria will no longer supply weapons from its public military stocks to Ukraine.

At the head of the government after his party’s victory in the legislative elections in May, Rumen Radev pleads for dialogue with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, and criticizes the military aid granted to Kiev. “The government is stopping the supply of weapons from the Bulgarian army to Ukraine,” Radev told the press.

“We have already given enough, while our country continues to suffer socio-economic losses due to this bloody war,” he added. He said he was “convinced that a peaceful solution cannot be achieved by military means.” “This is why we call once again for a comprehensive and realistic approach to this war and for the search for a diplomatic solution,” he continued.

Defense Minister calls for “negotiations”, Ukraine regains ground

The Bulgarian Prime Minister’s remarks were echoed in broad terms by his Defense Minister. “We have already made it clear that the war in Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield. We are observing a war of attrition, and no matter how much armament is amassed, the only result is the loss of human lives. It is time to sit down at the negotiating table,” declared Dimitar Stoyanov, in a press conference relayed by

Politico

.

At the beginning of June, Volosymyr Zelensky sent an open letter to Vladimir Putin, proposing a direct meeting. The missive was rejected by the Kremlin. Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich also visited kyiv in May to convey a “message” to Moscow, an initiative that has since remained a dead letter. Ukraine took back some 282 km2 from the Russians in May, reducing for the second month in a row the area of ​​its territory controlled by Moscow, which had been gaining ground since the fall of 2023

Bulgaria has notably supplied Ukraine with weapons from its military stocks, including air defense systems and surface-to-air missiles, financed by the European mechanism of the European Peace Facility. Bulgarian factories producing ammunition compatible with Soviet-era weapons used by the Ukrainian army have boomed since the start of the war, although their products are not sold directly to Ukraine but to EU countries, which then transfer them. The right-wing centrist GERB party, led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov,

criticized the decision to stop military aid to Ukraine, saying it erodes “confidence in Bulgaria as an ally”

.