site.btaDefence Minister: We Are Prioritizing Air, Rail Transport for Military Aid Bulgaria Is Sending to Ukraine

Speaking during Question Time here on Friday, caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said that "we are prioritizing air and rail transport of the military aid we are sending to Ukraine". He noted that all measures are taken to ensure the safety of citizens when arranging transport.

Zapryanov said that his Ministry has provided military-technical assistance to Ukraine, according to Parliament's decision, including dangerous goods that are transported only by air and rail. The Minister was responding to a question by Vazrazhdane MP Zlatan Zlatanov, who asked whether dangerous goods, including weapons, military equipment, and explosives, pass through the northeastern city of Ruse and the Danube Bridge and how the safety of residents living near the transport routes is guaranteed.

Troops and equipment from NATO member countries pass through Bulgaria in order to take part in various exercises, Zapryanov said. The transport of military equipment and dangerous goods concerns not only the aid to Ukraine, but the entire import and export of the Bulgarian defence industry, he added.

Zlatanov described the Minister’s response as "unsatisfactory and incomplete".