site.btaDefence Minister Tagarev: Bulgaria Prepares New Tranche of Military Aid for Ukraine

Bulgaria is preparing a new tranche of military aid for Ukraine, said Defence Minister Todor Tagarev before journalists after Tuesday's joint meeting of the parliamentary committees on defence and on foreign policy. Tagarev and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel were heard in connection with the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.

The assistance is according to Ukrainian needs and Bulgaria's capabilities, as decided by the National Assembly on December 9 last year, Tagarev added. "It is comparable in volume and types to the first package under that decision. There are things that are repeated, there are new ones, but in terms of volume it is more or less the same," the minister said. "We take out of the warehouses things that are in a fit condition, they still have a resource, but they are 30-40 years old and more, because of this the value of the aid is difficult to calculate," Tagarev explained. He said there is no discussion at this time about providing basic combat platforms. A decision will be proposed to the Council of Ministers very soon.

Taking a question by BTA, Tagarev said that very soon Bulgaria will join the agreement on providing one million artillery rounds to Ukraine. "The question here again is whether we have not missed opportunities, I hope we have not missed opportunities, especially those related to EU investments in the expansion and modernization of enterprises of our defence industry," he said. Tagarev pointed out that the VMZ-Sopot ordnance plant is one of the opportunities that will be discussed to receive EU funding.

Commenting on President Rumen Radev's statement on Tuesday that Bulgaria joining the European initiative for one million artillery rounds for Ukraine would be a mistake, Tagarev said: "I do not understand very well the logic of this argument, because in this case we are talking about investments, European funds in expanding the capacity and modernizing our defence industry, as long as we have not missed the opportunity."

Regarding the Cabinet's decision that Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, and not the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, will head the Bulgarian delegation to the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Tagarev said that the decision is based on Bulgaria's constitutional structure. Asked when he would hold a meeting with President Radev, the minister said: "When he invites me."