Bulgaria is seeking who will pay for the delivery of donated APCs to Ukraine

The Bulgarian government is seeking who will pay for the delivery of wheeled armored personnel carriers to Ukraine donated as part of military assistance.

Todor Tagarev, Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, announced this.

During a meeting of the parliamentary defense committee on January 17, the Minister reported that Bulgaria had not yet sent Ukraine the promised APCs from the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs warehouses.

Tagarev noted that the logistics part of supplying armored vehicles is already clear, but the question is who will pay for transportation.

“It is already clear who will load them and where they will go. Again, this is a very serious logistics operation,” the Minister said.

“We also know the amount that is needed. It would be within our budget, but first, we will try the Ramstein format to see if any of our allies will say: “Oh, that’s a very good idea, we will pay for the transportation,” he added.

At the same time, the Head of the Bulgarian defense department assured that if there were no willing allies, the government would consider financing options within the country and, if necessary, turn to parliament.

APCs from Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Parliament ratified the agreement on the supply of a batch of armored personnel carriers from the Bulgarian police warehouses to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on November 22, 2023.

The agreement covered the free transfer of about 100 wheeled APCs with existing weapons, along with spare parts from the depots of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev vetoed the agreement’s ratification on December 4, claiming that MPs did not properly consider alternative options for the use of equipment. He noted that it could have been used by the border police or the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, on December 8, the Bulgarian People’s Assembly already voted to override the president’s veto.

The Soviet-style armored personnel carriers that are to be transferred to Ukraine were purchased several decades ago. They were not in use and the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs spent money on their storage. A preliminary joint conclusion of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed that the transfer of armored vehicles would not harm Bulgaria’s defense capabilities.