Die Welt/Politico Story on Secret Bulgarian Arms Supplies to Ukraine Triggers Comments in Sofia

Jerusalem, 18 January, 2023 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 18.01.2023 (BTA)
A story in Die Welt and Politico about secret Bulgarian arms supplies in the early stage of the Ukraine war triggered a wave of comments by politicians in Sofia. Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who is a major protagonist in the Die Welt story, commented for Bulgarian reporters that it is imperative to say that there had been no direct ammunition export to Ukraine. The Socialist party who were one of four partners in Petkov’s government, reiterated that “not a single cartridge was exported to Ukraine”.

Socialist leader Korneliya Ninova was Economy Minister in Petkov’s government and was in charge of arms trade.

Stefan Yanev, the former Defense Minister in Petkov’s government who headed his own political party and made it to Parliament after he was replaced by Petkov, said that the report of Bulgarian ammo supplies to Ukraine is no news.

Daniel Mitov of GERB-UDF said that Bulgaria should have said openly that it was supplying arms to Ukraine because then it could have used the NATO assistance programs.

The Die Welt/Politico story

In a story entitled Bulgaria to the Rescue: How the EU’s Poorest Country Secretly Saved Ukraine, Politico writes about a Die Welt investigation that found that Sofia provided fuel and vital Soviet specification arms to Kyiv but had to keep supplies secret because of pro-Moscow politicians in the government.

Due to its disjointed domestic politics, and the pro-Russian bias of a large part of the elite, Bulgaria tried to stress during the invasion that it was not arming Ukraine, notes POLITICO.

However, this was a smokescreen, according to an investigation by the German daily Die Welt. Thanks to exclusive interviews with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev, the publication has pieced together how Bulgaria intervened in the war and used intermediaries to provide Kyiv with vital arms supplies, ammunition and diesel fuel at a critical moment last year.

While Petkov, who was Bulgaria’s prime minister at the start of the war, tried to steer the country on a more Western and pro-NATO trajectory, he had to deal with intense pressure from pro-Kremlin politicians, including among his socialist coalition partners, who are heirs of the old communist party, the German journalists write. Petkov publicly denied the idea that Bulgaria could arm Ukraine.

Petkov and Vassilev, now opposition politicians, broke their silence on the true scale of Bulgaria’s role last spring.

While the Bulgarian Socialist Party called Bulgarian arms shipments to Ukraine an “uncrossable red line,” Petkov officials used intermediary companies in Bulgaria and abroad to send supplies by air and land through Romania, Hungary, and Poland. “We think that about a third of the ammunition that was needed by the Ukrainian army in the early phase of the war came from Bulgaria,” Petkov told Die Welt, as quoted by POLITICO.

The government in Kyiv also confirmed this information. “Kiril Petkov showed integrity and I will always be grateful to him for using all his political skills to find a solution,” said Kuleba in an interview with Die Welt. He noted that the situation was simple, some members of the coalition in Bulgaria sided with Russia, and Petkov decided “to be on the right side of history” and help Ukraine defend itself against a much stronger enemy.”

Here is a soundbite of the comments in Sofia:

Kiril Petkov: It has to be said clearly that there was no direct export to Ukraine. Our partners in Poland, Romania, the US and the UK purchased weapons produced by the Bulgarian industry. Yes, some of it ended up in the Ukrainian army but it was not because Bulgaria exported – it was because Ukraine imported it from our partners. Of course, we are happy that the headline clearly says that Bulgaria had a pivotal role and was on the right side of history.

Korneliya Ninova: I insist that Bulgaria has not supplied a single cartridge to Ukraine and whoever claims the opposite must show documents to prove it. For tens of years, we have been exporting arms to over 60 countries and Bulgaria cannot control what they do with their assets.

MP Ivan Chenchev, Bulgarian Socialist Party: Not a single cartridge was exported to Ukraine. During Question Time in Parliament, the caretaker Economy Minister confirmed that. These are the facts.

Daniel Mitov MP (GERB-UDF): During the Petkov government, we repeatedly urged them to admit publicly that Bulgaria was sending weapons [to Ukraine] and we called on the previous Parliament to make an official decision to send military-technical aid to Ukraine. The story says nothing new because it is clear that arms were going to Ukraine even then. The problem is why they kept lying. Why Kiril Petkov and Korneliya Ninova lied and kept saying that not a single cartridge went to Ukraine. […] If a decision was made by the previous Parliament to send military-technical aid to Ukraine, Bulgaria at least could have used the NATO assistance programs and modernize its air defense.

Stefan Yanev, Bulgarian Rise leader: I would not comment information that has been repeatedly reported in the Bulgarian news media. I see no news here. As I have said before, when it is about businesses, it is normal that the Bulgarian defense industry would seek markets and sell its products on these markets, including when there is a war and these become high-turnover markets.