'I guarantee you that in five years, mark my words, that it will be said that this scrap metal is useless, and we have to throw them away and buy new ones,' Zapryanov told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. The benefits of that deal were apparent on March 22 when Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad announced that the United States has offered to sell Slovakia 12 new Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters at a two-thirds discount after Bratislava sent its retired MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.Īnd Bulgaria certainly needs to modernize its armed forces, argues Atanas Zapryanov, a former Bulgarian deputy defense minister, claiming much of its stockpile is close to being decommissioned anyway. Slovakia and Greece are two NATO states to take Washington up on that offer. Sofia also appears to be balking at an offer from Washington: Donate your Soviet-era hardware to Ukraine and the United States will replace them with modern systems or money. Radev, along with Dimitar Stoyanov, the caretaker Bulgarian defense minister, have stated recently that transferring some of the country's military stockpiles, including Soviet-era tanks and jets, or S-300 air defense systems, would leave the country's own defenses weakened, claims analysts said are dubious.īulgaria President Rumen Radev (file photo) Radev also added that Bulgaria will not provide fighter jets, missile defense systems, or tanks to Ukraine as long as the present caretaker government is in power. 'Our country will support European diplomatic efforts to restore peace.' 'Bulgaria does not support and is not part of the general order for the supply of shells to Ukraine,' Radev said. Radev, a former air force pilot, doubled down on his hard-line stance on March 21, balking at joining a dozen EU states to supply Ukraine with at least 1 million artillery shells over the next year. With its stockpile of Soviet-era weapons, Bulgaria, home to a thriving arms industry, could be a key ally of Ukraine, which is trained on and equipped with such arms, in its war against invading Russian forces.īut with parliament now dissolved ahead of elections on April 2, the fifth snap poll in two years amid political uncertainty, the caretaking government is in no mood to provide lethal aid to Kyiv, appointed as it was by President Rumen Radev, who is known for his pro-Kremlin leanings.

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