Why is Bulgaria banning arms supplies to Ukraine?

Why is Bulgaria banning arms supplies to Ukraine? June 12, 2026When Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said on Tuesday that his country would no longer provide arms to Ukraine, the announcement felt like deja vu for many Bulgarians. In the months immediately following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bulgarian officials insisted that "not a single bullet made in Bulgaria" was being sent to Ukraine. In practice, however, the country's defense industry significantly increased exports to intermediaries such as Poland and Czechia, which then supplied the weapons to Kyiv. The arrangement allowed Bulgaria's coalition government at the time to keep one of its pro-Russian constituent parties on board domestically while continuing to provide military supplies to Ukraine. What does the ban actually entail? The latest ban applies only to direct supplies from state stockpiles. It does not prevent Bulgaria's arms industry from exporting weapons to Ukraine. This raises the question as to whether the policy shift by the new government of former president Rumen Radev and his Progressive Bulgaria party is intended as a message to Kyiv or, once again, to the part of Bulgarian society that holds pro-Russian views. During a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday, the defense minister justified the recent decision by saying that the country "has no more weapons to give" because its stockpiles are "below the minimum required level." Yet the timing of the announcement caused confusion because the minister also acknowledged that Kyiv had not requested any new state-supplied weapons since he took office in early May. 'Bulgaria has already given enough' As one of Prime Minister Rumen Radev's closest associates, Stoyanov's decision appears to reflect a broader line within the government. While Bulgaria has sent 13 military aid packages to Kyiv since the start of the war, Radev has consistently opposed further weapons deliveries to Ukraine, describing larger European-funded arms initiatives as a "doomed cause" in 2025. "We have already given enough, while our country continues to suffer socio-economic damage from this bloody war," Radev said on Wednesday, defending the government's decision. An economic or a political decision? However, by highlighting the economic consequences of the war for Bulgaria, Radev did not focus on the fact that military aid supplied from state stockpiles has been largely reimbursed through the European Peace Facility (EPF). In response to a DW inquiry, the Ministry of Defense said that Bulgaria received more than €3 million ($3.47 million) from the EPF in 2025 and 2026. In addition, trilateral agreements generated more than €200 million for the ministry's budget. According to the ministry, more than half of that amount was used to help cover the state budget deficit. "Through this mechanism, the Bulgarian Army and the Ministry of Defense received additional funds that could be reinvested in military modernization projects," former Defense Minister Todor Tagarev told DW. The country's private defense industry has also expanded sales significantly and, according to Peter Dilov, the minister of economics at the time, accounted for more than 4% of Bulgaria's GDP in 2024. During Tagarev's tenure between 2023 and 2024, Bulgaria started supplying its old Soviet-era arms and received modern NATO-standard military equipment in return. Given the current export ban on what Tagarev calls "obsolete weapons," "Bulgaria is now losing this opportunity," he told DW. The nature of the exports Nadezhda Neynski, who served as foreign minister from 1997 until 2001 and then again in a caretaker capacity earlier this year, confirmed this, telling DW: "Military assistance to Ukraine does not diminish the Bulgarian army's capabilities, indeed, it enhances them." While full data on arms exports remains classified, Bulgarian official state supplies to Ukraine have in the past included 100 BTR-60PB armored personnel carriers, together with their accompanying weapons and spare parts, as well as defective missiles for S-300 surface-to-air systems for repair or use as spare parts. In addition to military equipment, Bulgaria has exported large quantities of Soviet-made artillery shells. These were in high demand in Ukraine in the early stages of the war, before Ukrainian forces switched to Western-standard weaponry. In March 2026, Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov and Foreign Minister Neynski signed a security cooperation agreement with Ukraine, strengthening defense ties between the two countries. Although the move drew criticism from Rumen Radev and Bulgaria's pro-Russian parties, which argued that it exceeded a caretaker government's mandate, Neynski told DW that the agreement represented an opportunity for the Bulgarian military to modernize through access to "cutting-edge defense technology" developed in Ukraine. The domestic gains of the arms export ban Before being elected in April with an absolute majority, the first achieved by a Bulgarian prime minister since 1997, Rumen Radev had campaigned on a platform of fighting corruption, bringing down prices and pursuing what he described as a "pragmatic" approach to foreign affairs. Although he declared that he would not veto any EU decision in support of Ukraine, he has criticized Europe for failing to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with Russia. While Radev has been cautious in his initial meetings with European leaders since taking office, his message at home that domestic priorities should come before additional military and financial aid to Kyiv appears to resonate with part of Bulgarian society. According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, 66% of Bulgarians oppose financing arms purchases for Ukraine, compared with 39% across the EU, although support in Bulgaria for the bloc itself remains high. "I think that these statements are mainly for domestic use — for the Russophile electorate of Progressive Bulgaria, in order to maintain the view that we do not want to harm Russia's interests," Tagarev told DW. Neither the President of the European Commission nor the President of the European Council has commented on Bulgaria's policy shift. But for Neynski, such decisions, which break with Bulgaria's recent policy course, damage the country's long-term reputation. "The message being sent to our partners is: 'You cannot count on us'," she said. "And this war will end, and participation in Ukraine's reconstruction will be possible only for countries that are trusted." Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan