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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Bulgaria that Sofia has agreed to cooperate more actively in the defense sector, as Kiev seeks to drum up support among NATO members for its ongoing retaliatory offensive.
“We discussed the military assistance that Bulgaria offers to our country,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. “We count on the continuation of the collaboration that has already saved many lives.”
Bulgaria has a large stockpile of Soviet-era weapons, and its weapons manufacturing base is relatively seamlessly integrated with the systems in use in Ukraine.
But arms deliveries from the eastern EU country have been slow and carried out mainly through intermediaries, thanks to the Bulgarian president’s insistence that Sofia refrain from delivering weapons to Kiev.
However, a new pro-West government in Bulgaria, which took office in May, has promised to speed up shipments and eliminate middlemen.
The Bulgarian parliament on Thursday approved a plan to accelerate the replenishment of state stockpiles of arms and ammunition, paving the way for large-scale deliveries to Ukraine.
Bulgaria’s pro-Russia, far-right Revival Party called the visit a provocation. The Kremlin also said Zelensky’s visit showed Kiev was doing everything possible to drag more and more countries into the conflict.
Bulgarian politicians have visited Kiev in the past year, but this was Zelensky’s first visit to Bulgaria since Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Turkish state media reported that the Ukrainian leader was expected to travel to Turkey on Friday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the expiration of the Black Sea grain deal.
The Black Sea agreement, which has allowed Ukraine to export grain despite a Russian blockade, is due to expire on July 17. NATO ally Turkey played a major role in negotiating the agreement.
Additional reporting by Adam Samson in Ankara
