site.btaMinister Tagarev: "We Will Help Ukraine, This Is Not Only Moral Commitment, But Also in Our Strategic Interest"

"Bulgaria will help Ukraine with the very clear understanding that this is not only a moral commitment to a country close to us and a victim of aggression, but it is in our strategic interest to be able to guarantee security in our region," Defence Minister Todor Tagarev told Bulgarian journalists after the end of a NATO defence ministerial in Brussels.

In his words, the European ammunition procurement initiative is just one of several and provides for increasing the production and restocking capabilities of the allies. "Our first reaction, in my opinion, was not good enough. We stayed passive," he said referring to the fact that Bulgaria is still not part of the joint European purchase of 155-mm calibre rounds. "This initiative was an opportunity for investment in our defence industry to help us move towards NATO standards," the minister noted. "Because of our passivity, we have delayed a lot of actions. We will study to what extent it is possible at the moment to implement this idea," Tagarev added.

The same is true for other initiatives, including the maintenance of armoured vehicles, he noted. In his words, Bulgaria has opportunities to get involved in this project.

"It is no longer just a question of providing armaments to Ukraine, but also of building capacity, of facilities for repairing equipment, for training Ukrainian servicemen, for clearing landmines, which number in the thousands on and around the front," the minister said. "Unfortunately, despite the assistance we have provided, the war continues at a very high pace. I was very impressed by the absolute commitment of all parties here, with the very clear understanding that helping Ukraine also means guaranteeing our security," he added.

Regarding intentions to set up a structure within the Ministry of Defence to combat disinformation, he said: "We have to be proactive inside the system and towards our society. I heard that there have been such ideas before. We need to see how capacity needs to be redeployed to be an active party in strategic communications. The State must and does have such structures, the question is how effective this communication is."