Bad news for Zelensky: First NATO partner stops arms deliveries to Ukraine

Mercury Bad news for Zelensky: First NATO partner stops arms deliveries to Ukraine Article by Robert Wagner • 7 hours Ukraine war Bad news for Zelensky: First NATO partner stops arms deliveries to Ukraine Bulgaria will not deliver 100 armored vehicles to Ukraine for the time being. President Radev vetoed it. He is considered pro-Russian. Sofia – This decision by the NATO state Bulgaria was unexpected. President Rumen Radev on Monday vetoed the delivery of 100 decommissioned Bulgarian army transport vehicles to Ukraine. Just a few weeks earlier, the parliament in Sofia had approved a corresponding agreement, as the US magazine Newsweek reported. According to Bulgarian broadcaster NOVA, Radev sent the agreement back to parliament for further discussion with his veto. He therefore explained that the MPs who signed the agreement were not “familiar” enough with the matter. The Bulgarian National Assembly ratified the agreement between the Ministry of Interior of their country and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on November 22nd. Ukraine war: Bulgaria surprisingly blocks already agreed delivery of armored vehicles Bulgaria is one of the NATO members that has so far vigorously supported Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion. However, as tensions rise between Russia and members of the military alliance, some European countries have begun taking measures to secure their own borders amid apparent fears of an expansion of the war in Ukraine. Bulgaria would be at the forefront in such a case due to its proximity to Ukraine. In his motion published by NOVA on Monday, Radev said he did not believe that representatives of the Bulgarian National Assembly had "sufficiently investigated" whether the vehicles in question were no longer needed by Sofia's Interior Ministry. “From the discussions during the adoption of the draft law in the National Assembly, a large number of them were not familiar with the specific list of equipment provided at the time of the vote,” Radev told parliamentarians. This circumstance makes it “impossible” for them to assess whether the decommissioned armored vehicles are actually no longer needed. Bulgaria's president lists "war tasks" - but is considered pro-Russian According to the NOVA report, the Bulgarian President pointed out reasons why the vehicles in question should remain in Bulgaria. The “wartime tasks” of his Interior Ministry were not taken into account by the legislature in the approval process. In addition, there are no plans to replace the ministry's armored vehicles after the donation to Ukraine. The Bulgarian border police also do not have enough equipment and transport vehicles to work in higher terrain. Exactly such vehicles should now apparently go to Kiev. “The armored highland transport equipment provided to Ukraine with this agreement could be used to protect the Bulgarian border,” Radev said. This task is of “essential importance”, also with a view to Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area. In contrast to the liberal-conservative government led by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkow, Bulgaria's President Radev is considered Russia-friendly. In July 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even engaged in a war of words with his Bulgarian counterpart over the issue of Bulgarian arms deliveries to Ukraine. Radev said at the time that he continued to believe “that this conflict has no military solution.” (rowa)