One of the countries will provide Ukraine with faulty man-portable air defense systems and anti-aircraft missiles that can be repaired and will help with training
Bulgaria approves a number of decisions on defense assistance to Ukraine
Bulgaria has made a number of decisions to support the Ukrainian Defense Forces, including both the transfer of weapons and efforts to train our military, as reported by a number of Bulgarian resources yesterday, December 7.
First of all, it should be noted that after “heated debates” in the Defense Committee, it was finally decided to transfer “faulty outdated” MANPADS to Ukraine, as well as “anti-aircraft missiles of various types” – Bulgaria notes that Ukraine has the ability to restore these weapons, according to bnr.bg.
At the end of September, Bulgaria separately and also in a heated debate agreed to transfer missiles to Ukraine for the S-300 air defense system, and it was also said that these were outdated missiles that we would need to repair in order to use them to protect the sky. And that they were talking about a possible transfer of 3-5% of all the missiles in Bulgaria. According to the Military Balance for 2023, the country is armed with the Strela-2 man-portable air defense system, as well as the Osa, C-125M, and Kub systems.
As for the other agreed assistance from Bulgaria, this country will take part in training our military – up to four infantry/mechanized companies, a total of 160 soldiers.
This country will also help train our pilots for the F-16 multifunctional fighter aircraft, including using the country’s airspace. Last November, Bulgaria finally approved the purchase of eight additional fighter jets.
Earlier, the country’s president vetoed the transfer of 100 outdated BTR-60 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, but other officials in the country called the decision a “disgrace” and assured that the parliament would be able to override the veto.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that back in March of this year it became known that the Ukrainian Armed Forces secretly received billions of dollars worth of Bulgarian-made weapons, without which it would have been more difficult on the battlefield.
