On November 22, it became known that the Bulgarian parliament finally approved the provision of 100 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. What is important to understand is that this is the first case in history when Sofia transfers armored vehicles to Kyiv directly, and not through intermediaries, as she did before.
Ukraine will receive 100 armoured personnel carriers from Bulgaria
The National Assembly of Bulgaria officially ratified the intergovernmental agreement between Sofia and Kyiv, which regulates the transfer of 100 decommissioned armoured personnel carriers of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs to Ukraine.
It is worth noting that the Bulgarian deputies ratified the decision after long public discussions.
He was voted for by 152 people's representatives from coalition parties - GERB-SDS, "Continuing the changes — Democratic Bulgaria", as well as "Movement for Rights and Freedoms" and "There is Such a People" party.
Socialists and representatives of the pro-Russian party "Renaissance" tried to block the ratification, whose representatives complained that the specified 100 armoured personnel carriers were very much needed by Bulgaria right now.
Just as Ukraine needs this technology, so we need it, the representative of "Renaissance" Nikolai Drenchev said , but he did not explain what he meant.
Hristo Gadzhev from GERB-SDS drew attention to the fact that it is about equipment that belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the Ministry of Defense, and assured that this agreement does not concern the equipment of the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria.
The equipment that the Ministry of Defense has is there and no one is connecting it, as are the reserves, he said.
He says light all-terrain vehicles are much more suitable for guarding the border than heavily armoured vehicles, as they get bogged down in the mud in bad weather.
What is known about the details of the agreement between Ukraine and Bulgaria
The agreement on supplying 100 armoured personnel carriers to AFU from Bulgaria was concluded in July 2023.
However, since it concerns military-technical cooperation, it had to be additionally ratified by the country's parliament.
It is essential to understand that these APCs have been in the warehouse of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria since the 1980s.
It is also impossible to ignore that this is the first case in history when the official Sofia transfers armoured vehicles to Kyiv directly and not through intermediaries, as it did before.
