Bulgarian opposition alleges "illegal" military aid to Ukraine
Kostadin Kostadinov, the leader of the Bulgarian opposition party Revival, accused the government of "illegal" aid to Ukraine. He claims that Bulgarian rockets are reaching the front lines, a decision that has seen a lack of consensus among Bulgarian authorities.
The Bulgarian military portal reports that Kostadin Kostadinov did not specify which rockets he was referencing. Bulgarian warehouses house a large arsenal of various types of rockets, which are highly sought after by the Ukrainian armed forces. Bulgaria has supported Ukraine's army almost since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022. However, this support has faced challenges due to political divisions and pro-Russian propaganda.
Tochka-U from Bulgaria for Ukraine?
Among NATO countries, Bulgaria is regarded as a leader in the production of ammunition for Soviet-era artillery systems, which Ukraine also employs. This includes systems such as the 2S1 Gvozdika, 2S3 Akatsiya, and BM-21 Grad.
The Bulgarian military portal, however, refers to more powerful weapons like the Tochka-U ballistic missiles, which may have been of interest to the pro-Russian Revival party. Although their history dates back to the 1980s, these missiles remain potent, as demonstrated by the Ukrainian-Russian war. The Tochka-U has a maximum strike range of approximately 120 kilometres and can carry various types of warheads, including conventional, cluster, and even nuclear.
Bulgarian aid for Ukraine
Although officially, aid from Bulgaria to Ukraine was gradually increased with each passing month of the war, some sources suggest that Sofia may have been providing significant support to Kyiv from the very start of the Russian aggression. For example, the German portal Welt published an article in 2023, suggesting that Bulgarian ammunition supplies might have fulfilled up to one-third of Ukraine's needs in the initial months of the war.
It is estimated that substantial amounts of bulletproof vests, helmets, 122-millimetre artillery shells, as well as various types of mortar rounds, handheld anti-tank weapons with suitable ammunition, and grenades have been sent from Bulgaria to Ukraine.
An undisclosed number of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles also reached the front, and towards the end of 2023, after many heated discussions in the Bulgarian parliament, the final decision was made to send BTR-60 armoured vehicles to Ukraine.
