Key facts
- Bulgaria's new government will cease sending arms to Ukraine.
- Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov called for peace negotiations.
- Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who won the recent election, is a critic of military aid.
- Ukraine confirmed that commercial defense cooperation with Bulgaria continues.
- Bulgaria had previously supplied significant military aid, including Soviet-era weapons.
Bulgaria's new government, led by Prime Minister Rumen Radev, has announced it will not continue sending arms to Ukraine. Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stated on June 9 that it is 'time to sit at the negotiating table' to seek a 'just peace.'
Radev, who previously served as president and has been critical of military aid to Kyiv, won the parliamentary elections on April 19. Stoyanov characterized the Russia-Ukraine war as positional, suggesting further arms shipments would only increase casualties without altering the battlefield.
Bulgaria, a NATO and EU member, had previously supplied 13 military aid packages to Ukraine, playing a significant role in supporting Kyiv with Soviet-era weaponry early in the conflict. However, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry clarified that while no free assistance is currently being provided, commercial defense cooperation with Bulgaria is ongoing and mutually beneficial.
This development comes as Ukraine and its European partners pursue new initiatives for a peaceful resolution, efforts that have reportedly been met with a negative response from Moscow. Ukraine and Bulgaria's former government had signed a 10-year security agreement in March, aiming for joint drone and arms production.