The news that Bulgaria will no longer send weapons to Ukraine received limited coverage in foreign publications. From the Western media, Bloomberg and “Politico“ published materials in connection with yesterday's press conference of Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, at which he presented the priorities and the cabinet. At the same time, it is striking that a number of Ukrainian and Russian media outlets did not publish their own materials on the topic, but reflected different emphases from the articles by Bloomberg and “Politico“.
Western media
Bulgaria's newly appointed government plans to stop providing weapons to Ukraine, contrary to Europe's attempts to put pressure on Russia to end the war, Bloomberg writes, citing Dimitar Stoyanov.
The move reinforces the new Bulgarian government's opposition to EU support for Ukraine, after Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who expresses positions close to those of Russia, won the parliamentary elections by a large margin in April. Bulgaria has sent 13 aid packages to Kiev since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, but Radev has described the Ukrainian cause as "doomed," Politico notes.
Radev, a former fighter pilot, has cited his military experience to argue his case that Ukraine should negotiate peace with Russia, and in May he suggested that the EU should lead peace talks. Although the country's new government has taken a more favorable position towards the Kremlin, it has refrained from open confrontation with Brussels on the issue of Ukraine, Politico pointed out.
Russian media
Bulgaria is one of the largest producers in the European Union of Soviet-standard shells, on which the Ukrainian armed forces relied significantly in the first stage of the conflict, writes the Russian publication RBC, citing Bloomberg.
Radev has repeatedly spoken out against military aid to Kiev, and in 2017, when he was president, he called for the lifting of all sanctions against Russia, explaining the need for this by the damage that the restrictions cause to the economies of European countries, writes the newspaper Kommersant, which also refers to the American agency.
Ukrainian media
Radev has repeatedly stated that the war cannot be resolved on the battlefield, and has criticized European military support for Kiev. Although Sofia initially opposed direct military aid after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bulgarian-made ammunition reached Ukraine through exports to other European countries. Since then, Bulgaria has approved 13 military aid packages for Kiev, although the authorities have not publicly disclosed their value or content, the Kyiv Post reported, also citing Bloomberg.
The arms freeze for Ukraine is a move that reinforces the new Bulgarian government's opposition to EU support for Ukraine after Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who is considered friendly to Russia, won parliamentary elections in April, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing Politico.