Bulgaria's newly appointed defence minister, Dimitar Stoyanov, announced on Tuesday that the country will no longer provide arms to Ukraine. Stoyanov urged Moscow and Kyiv to engage in negotiations to end the war, stating that the conflict will not be resolved on the battlefield and that it is time to seek a just peace determined by both sides. There was no immediate response from Kyiv.
As a member of NATO and the European Union, Bulgaria has provided military aid since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. In 2024 and 2025, the country sent anti-tank missiles, armoured vehicles, mortars, anti-aircraft guns, howitzers, and infantry weapons. During 2022 and 2023, Bulgaria did not officially export weapons to Ukraine, instead exporting to mostly European intermediaries.
The decision by the government, led by former president Rumen Radev, runs counter to European Union efforts to pressure Russia to end the war. While Radev is known for his pro-Russian stance, he pledged to follow pro-EU policies after being sworn in last month. This shift occurs despite a 10-year bilateral security cooperation agreement signed with Ukraine in March, which includes intelligence sharing, joint defence production, and an energy corridor designed to route up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Ukraine.