Bulgaria has run out of military supplies to send to Ukraine, Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced, just one day after the Netherlands admitted it had also reached its own supply limits.
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday, Radev confirmed that his government would continue backing Ukraine financially "within its capabilities, without affecting social spending." However, he made clear that Bulgaria's armed forces no longer have equipment or ammunition available for further shipments to Kiev.
No More Weapons Left in Bulgarian Warehouses
"We have exhausted our ability to provide military support. I mean weapons and ammunition from the warehouses of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. We provided 13 packages; we don't have anything else to supply to Ukraine," Radev told journalists. He noted, however, that Sofia could still contribute by offering technical support, such as repairing existing military equipment used by Ukrainian forces.
The Netherlands Faces the Same Problem
Radev isn't alone in acknowledging these constraints. Just a day earlier, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius admitted that the Netherlands had also hit the ceiling of what it could offer from its own military reserves.
"We don't have opportunities any more as the Netherlands because we have done so much... We are at our limit," she told Bloomberg when questioned about the possibility of sending additional Patriot air defense systems.
These admissions stand in sharp contrast to Vladimir Zelensky's ongoing appeals during the Ankara summit, where he urged NATO allies to step up deliveries of air defense systems and interceptor missiles.
A Policy Shift Already Underway
Radev's statement reinforces a position first outlined last month by Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, who argued that continuing to arm Ukraine would not help resolve the conflict, since it cannot be won through military means alone.
This marks a significant shift for Bulgaria, which under its previous government became one of Kiev's most important suppliers of Soviet-standard weaponry and ammunition. Officials have estimated that Bulgarian-made shells made up nearly a third of all ammunition used by Ukrainian forces during the first year of the war.
Radev's Long-Standing Stance on the Conflict
Radev, whose Progressive Bulgaria party secured victory in April's parliamentary elections, has consistently pushed back against the European Union's approach to the war in Ukraine. During his presidency from 2022 to 2025, he:
- Criticized EU sanctions targeting Russian energy exports
- Blocked a proposal to send Bulgarian armored vehicles to Ukraine
- Repeatedly called for diplomatic negotiations rather than continued military escalation
Moscow's Response
Russia has consistently criticized Western arms shipments to Ukraine, maintaining that such support only prolongs the conflict without altering its ultimate outcome, while simultaneously making a negotiated peace more difficult to achieve.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated this position on Tuesday, stating that Zelensky could bring an immediate end to the fighting by ordering Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the Donbass region.
Text | Opinion - Planet-Today.com