Ukrainian Ambassador sent a note to the Foreign Ministry requesting weapons from Bulgaria

The Ukrainian ambassador to Bulgaria, Vitaly Moskalenko, has officially requested weapons from Bulgaria. Moskalenko told BTV that so far there has been no response from the Bulgarian foreign ministry. A month ago, Bulgaria’s Parliament approved sending military-technical aid to Ukraine, which excludes weapons and ammunition.

The foreign ministry confirmed for BNT that today, June 6, they received the note from the Ukrainian embassy and will forward it to the competent institutions.

The Ukrainian Embassy's request for the provision of arms was a logical step by Kiev in view of the fact that the Bulgarian army has Soviet-style weapons and equipment that the Ukrainian army also has. Bulgaria could potentially provide the T-72 base tank, 152 mm howitzers, Grad volley fire systems, S-300 and Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as the Tochka-U tactical missile complex.

The infantry units are also armed with APCs and MLRS.

How Bulgaria will provide armaments to Ukraine is unclear at this stage, since on 4 May the Bulgarian Parliament decided to provide only military-technical support to Kiev, which provides only for the repair of Ukrainian equipment at the TEREM factories.

Vitaly Moskalenko said that indeed 80 tanks from his country will be repaired in Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defence told BNT that the contract with Ukraine on the type and number of weapons and equipment to be repaired at the TEREM plants, as well as the way they will be transported to Bulgaria, has not yet been signed.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party said that there is a decision of the Parliament that must be respected. Only "We Continue the Change" party commented.

"As you know there is a decision of the Parliament on the topic, it is quite detailed what exactly the Parliament has approved and what mandate has been given to the Council of Ministers. I also learned this morning about the ambassador’s note and what they have requested, but we don't know the details. We should probably call foreign minister Genchovska to brief us, as we have no data and have only heard what the ambassador has said publicly," said Nastimir Ananiev of the parliamentary group of “We Continue the Change”.