Bulgaria Does Not Plan to Give Ukraine MiG-29s Free of Charge but Discusses Their Replacement

Tuesday, 11 April 2023

The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence has not negotiated the free-of-charge supply of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.

As Bulgarian news agency BGNES reports, Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence states that such a decision would lead to a decrease in the country's defence capability, contrary to Bulgaria's Constitution and laws.

However, BGNES noted that in pursuance of a parliamentary decision adopted at the end of 2022, the ministry held successful negotiations on the possibility of implementing the so-called "triangular agreements" to replace available weapon systems with those from allied countries without losing defence capability.

Earlier, the media reported that Bulgaria was likely to sell a large amount of ammunition to Ukraine through intermediaries, which could significantly affect the war’s course.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence has announced that it will transfer old ammunition worth almost €175 million to the state-owned VMZ military plant and receive new ammunition in return.

This decision aims to ensure that a considerable amount of old ammunition from the Bulgarian army's warehouses gets to Ukraine.

Earlier, Euractiv found in its investigation that the supply of weapons to Ukraine worth billions of euros from Bulgaria has not stopped, despite official statements by the authorities in Sofia.

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