Bulgaria rules out new funding for Ukraine and weapons deliveries from army stockpiles
According to Radev, Bulgaria is currently subject to the EU's excessive deficit procedure and is also facing difficulties with its own reserves. Under these circumstances, the country cannot allocate additional funds for financial assistance to Ukraine.
"As for financial assistance, we ourselves are subject to the excessive deficit procedure, and Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly asked us to bring the deficit below the 3% limit," the prime minister said.
At the same time, Radev stressed that Bulgaria would not prevent other EU member states from making their own decisions on providing financial support to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Sofia is willing to discuss mechanisms to ensure that funds are used exclusively for:
According to the Bulgarian government's position, funding for weapons procurement should not be included.
Radev also said that if Bulgaria acted as a guarantor, mechanisms would need to be introduced to ensure that funds could be directed straight to the Bulgarian community concentrated in several regions of Ukraine.
The prime minister separately announced that Bulgaria no longer supplies Ukraine with weapons and ammunition from its military stockpiles.
According to Radev, Bulgarian defense companies exported military products in very large volumes in 2022 and 2023, but these figures subsequently declined.
He attributed the drop in exports to changes in the nature of the war and Ukraine's military needs. While ammunition was in particularly high demand in the early stages of the war, demand has now shifted towards unmanned aerial vehicles.
On 1 November, Bulgaria held the second round of its presidential election. Incumbent President Iliana Iotova won the vote. She supports dialogue with Russia and opposes providing aid to Ukraine.
As Rubryka previously reported, on 8 July, Radev said that Bulgaria could no longer provide Ukraine with military aid from its armed forces' stockpiles because its available supplies had been exhausted. However, the country remained willing to continue repairing Ukrainian military equipment and gear.
In early June, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov also announced that his country would no longer supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that "the war in Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield".
According to Stoyanov, the time had come to sit down at the negotiating table and "seek a just peace", to be determined by the two parties involved in the conflict.
In addition, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that Bulgaria was withdrawing from the Coalition of the Willing, which brings together countries supporting Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression. He explained the decision by citing his opposition to continued military assistance to Kyiv.
In October, the Bulgarian government also decided to stop funding lethal weapons for Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF). Bulgaria will continue to provide only non-lethal assistance through this mechanism.
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14 of November 2026
