"At the time of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bulgaria was able to quickly send Soviet-era military equipment to the Ukrainian army, which could handle it easily. For a long time, Sofia kept these arms deliveries secret, fearing Russian sabotage. For the most part, equipment and ammunition were sent to Poland first, frequently via the country's Rzeszow Airport, which is in the southeast and not far from the Ukrainian boder."
"He said that in future the EU will pay for the supplies. "Bulgaria is making a significant contribution, and that might be further increased," Tagarev said. Only at the end of August, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall announced it was setting up a new ammunition plant in Bulgaria and investing 1 billion ($1.17 billion). The project will also partially be financed through EU loans and is to be developed in collaboration with Bulgarian state-owned arms manufacturer VMZ Sopot."
Bulgaria's defense industry has specialized in producing small arms, light weapons and ammunition of all calibers since Soviet times. At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Bulgaria quickly supplied Soviet-era equipment that Ukrainian forces could operate. Sofia initially concealed arms deliveries to avoid Russian sabotage, routing most equipment and ammunition through Poland via Rzeszow Airport, which is protected by NATO Patriot systems. Former defense minister Todor Tagarev organized a major, confidential package of Soviet-era arms. Bulgaria is now slated to produce a sizeable share of the two million artillery shells the EU pledged to Ukraine, with future supplies to be EU-funded. German firm Rheinmetall announced a €1 billion ammunition plant in Bulgaria in partnership with state-owned VMZ Sopot, partially financed by EU loans.
Read at www.dw.com
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