Bulgaria denies report it held talks on donating MiG-29s to Ukraine
In a statement on April 10, Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry rejected as untrue a CNN report, citing what the broadcaster described as leaked Pentagon documents, that Bulgaria had expressed willingness to donate its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
According to the CNN, Bulgaria had on February 23 “expressed willingness to donate its fleet of MiG-29 jets to Ukraine – a ‘challenge,’ the report assesses, because it will leave Bulgaria without fighter aircraft to fulfill its air policing missions until US-made F-16s are delivered, ‘which is at least a year away’.”
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said that it had not held talks on donating MiG-29s to Ukraine.
“Such a decision would lead to a deficit of capabilities, which is contrary to the constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Defence and Armed Forces Act of the Republic of Bulgaria,” the ministry said.
It said that in implementing the decision of the National Assembly from the end of 2022, the ministry had held successively held talks on the possibilities of implementing the so-called “triangular deals”, to replace some of the available weapons with compatible ones from allied countries, without allowing loss of capabilities.
The ministry was referring to the previous Parliament’s decision which bound the government to supply arms to Ukraine. The caretaker government appointed by President Roumen Radev has claimed that this mandate has been fulfilled, a claim that is disputed.
(Photo: Bulgarian Air Force)
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