Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived on a one-day visit to Bulgaria as the Balkan country’s new government looks to ratchet up its support for Kyiv.
After months of political turmoil hamstrung Bulgaria’s backing for Ukraine against the Russian invasion, a new government led by the country’s two main rival parties has taken a strong line in cooperating with Kyiv, including increased military assistance and the sale of nuclear equipment.
Zelenskiy and Bulgarian officials in Sofia are set to discuss “defense support, Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration, the NATO summit, security guarantees, peace formula implementation,” according to Zelenskiy’s Telegram channel.
The Bulgarian parliament on Thursday approved a plan to accelerate the replenishment of state weaponry and ammunition reserves, paving the way for large-scale deliveries of badly needed Soviet-era ammunition to Ukraine.
The government is looking to transfer old ammunition for as much as 350 million lev ($195 million) to the state-owned VMZ factory, one of the European Union’s biggest ammunition producers, in exchange for new equipment.
Lawmakers in Sofia also approved a plan to sell nuclear equipment for at least 1.18-billion lev to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy’s government has urged EU nations to lift restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports in response to falling prices. Bulgaria joined a group of eastern EU peers who imposed the measures on imports of wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed except for transfers to other EU states.
The ban should expire in mid-September, but Hungary has called for the restrictions to be extended to year-end.
--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska.
(Updates with details starting from second paragraph.)
