Bulgaria refused to finance the purchase of weapons for Ukraine

Bulgaria will no longer finance the purchase of lethal weapons for Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF). In the future, the country plans to allocate funds only to non-lethal assistance.

This is reported by Novinite, citing a statement from the Bulgarian government dated October 21.

The Bulgarian government noted that Sofia will continue to support Ukraine, but will change its approach to financing aid. In particular, the authorities will insist that funds primarily go to regions where ethnic Bulgarians live.

The government of Rumen Radev explained this decision by the desire to stop hostilities near the Bulgarian borders. At the same time, Sofia declared its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but opposed a prolonged military confrontation.

The Bulgarian government believes that focusing on non-lethal aid will send a signal to the international community about the need to intensify diplomatic efforts to end the war.

This year, Bulgaria’s contribution to the European Peace Fund is just over €9 million. At the same time, the government did not specify a separate amount that would be allocated directly to the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.

Bulgaria has previously provided Ukraine with over 6 million euros in aid through this mechanism. The previous government of Rosen Zhelyazkov made the corresponding decision in February.

The European Peace Facility has been operating since 2021, with a total budget of over €17 billion. In September, the European Union approved over €6 billion for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.

In addition, Bulgaria previously received over 3 million euros in compensation through the fund for the transfer of military equipment.