Caretaker PM: Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry has provided 343 million euro in military-technical, humanitarian aid to Ukraine
The Defence Ministry has provided military-technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine amounting to 343 991 784 euro, caretaker Prime Minister Andrei Gyurov said in a reply to written questions tabled in Parliament.
The assistance was provided in line with government decisions and agreements between the defence ministries of Bulgaria and Ukraine that had been ratified in Parliament, Gyurov said.
So far, reimbursement received by Bulgaria from European and allied mechanisms under the European Peace Facility (EPF) and the agreements amounted to 243 041 047 euro, and it was expected that additional funds under the EPF amounting to 4 381 569 euro would be received in 2026 and 2027.
“The provision of aid does not lead to a loss of defence capabilities and does not have a negative impact on the operational readiness of military formations, nor does it affect the established standards for material resources necessary for the functioning of the Armed Forces,” Gyurov said.
“The logistics and provision of aid activities were carried out without the need for additional costs, transfers or extraordinary payments from the state budget. All processes were implemented within the current budget of the Ministry of Defence,” he said.
The process of determining the assistance is based on a detailed assessment of the current needs and the legally approved standards for wartime stocks of the armed forces, Gyurov said.
Based on this analysis, types and quantities of military assets that were surplus to requirements, as well as those that need to be used and destroyed, had been identifed.
The provision of assets intended for destruction saved the Defence Ministry money, because it did not have to use public funds for costly destruction. It also freed up critical storage capacity.
The total assistance from Bulgaria to Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 has amounted to about 1.28 billion euro. Most of this is not for military aid, but for humanitarian expenses, mainly for the support of Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria.
From 2022 to 2025, humanitarian aid amounted to close to 920 million euro.
In 2022, about 276.2 million euro was spent, in 2023, about 249.6 million euro, in 2024, about 376.67 million euro, while in 2025, spending dropped sharply, to about 6.64 million euro.
The funds are aimed at housing, food, healthcare and social support for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Part of these costs are co-financed by European funds – for example, in 2022, 72.6 million euro was provided by the EU.
In addition to direct assistance, Bulgaria also participates in the European mechanisms for macro-financial support for Ukraine. By the end of 2025, the country had disbursed about 6.15 million euro in the form of interest rate subsidies, with a total commitment of 13.67 million euro up to 2027. A guarantee of 16.65 million euro has also been taken on, which has not yet been activated.
Gyurov was replying to questions from Zlatan Zlatanov, an MP for pro-Russian party Vuzrazhdane, who insisted that all sums in the replies be stated in leva, with which Gyurov complied. This article converts all those sums in the written reply from the now-defunct currency into euro.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
