The Republic of Bulgaria has been providing political, diplomatic and humanitarian support to Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion of russia. Bulgaria has sent a clear signal of its commitment to supporting Ukraine, upholding Euro-Atlantic values and strengthening its alliance solidarity through joint efforts to maintain international peace and security.

The Black Sea country has joined the G7 declaration of support for Ukraine, under which the parties pledged to work with Ukraine on bilateral long-term security commitments and is actively involved in the Crimean Platform where it is co-chair of one of the working groups on environmental security.

In order to develop effective strategies to respond to existing challenges and ensure sustainable development for all peace-loving states in the region, Ukraine and Bulgaria held the Second Black Sea Security Conference in Sofia on April 15. The conference was co-organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ukraine and Bulgaria in partnership with the Center for Defense Strategies (Ukraine). The conference was attended by delegations from 42 states and 8 international organizations.

The National Assembly of Bulgaria approved the allocation of financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €60 thousand. The funds will be used to participate in the four-year program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Bulgaria provides Ukraine with substantial military assistance, including weapons and ammunition for soviet-era systems that the Ukrainian military knows and uses without additional training. But the most important is the production of ammunition, small arms and light weapons in Bulgaria. This is the sector of production in which the country has specialized and this specialization is still preserved. Thus, the defense industry operates almost 24/7 and the bulk of production is supplied to Ukraine. The Bulgarian defense industry is also planning to launch additional production facilities for the production of NATO-standard 155- and 105-millimeter ammunition.

In March 2024, Bulgaria sent another batch of military aid to Ukraine. Defense Minister Todor Tagarev announced the successful shipment of 100 armored personnel carriers with existing weapons and spare parts. The country has also found surplus ammunition and equipment for a new package of military aid to Ukraine.

The Republic of Bulgaria is also conducting several training programs for the Ukrainian Army, Air Force, and Navy. Among them is a two-month training program for Ukrainian sailors under the NATO program in Varna and Sofia. The country plans to start training one infantry company but can train several companies a year and has offered to train combat medics as well. The Bulgarian Armed Forces also participate in NATO’s Security Training and Assistance to Ukraine (NSATU) operation.

Bulgaria has also announced a desire to join the F-16 coalition, providing training for pilots, engineering staff and air traffic controllers, training for engineering staff, basic training for maintenance staff, and training for F-16s.

On July 1, 2024, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Romania launched joint mine countermeasures operations in the Black Sea to improve the safety of navigation, particularly for Ukrainian grain exports. The initiative is the first major joint action by the Black Sea countries since the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is aimed at clearing out the russian mines drifting in some areas of the Black Sea as a result of military aggression.

In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Bulgarian activists held a protest rally under the slogan “Let’s stop russia, the killer of Ukrainian children!”. The participants of the rally recalled the recent horrific war crime committed by russia – the shelling of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv – and honored the memory of all the children who died during this terrible war.

The development of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation also remains an important priority for the two countries. The analysis of export and import operations of Dnipropetrovsk region with Bulgaria demonstrates a high level of partnership, as this country is an important trade partner of the region.

Bulgarian enterprises are most interested in ferrous metals and products made of them, fats and vegetable oil, railway locomotive parts, seeds and oilseeds, etc. The volume of goods exported from Dnipropetrovsk region amounted to $280.6 million, which is 31% of the total Ukrainian figure.

139 companies in Dnipropetrovsk region exported their products to the Bulgarian market, including mining and metals, machine-building, processing, and agricultural companies.

The TOP 5 exporters in terms of exported products are the following:

Imports of goods from Bulgaria to Dnipropetrovsk region increased by 7.7% compared to 2022 and amounted to $57.4 million.

126 importing companies in the region mostly purchased Bulgarian goods, namely: oil and its distillation products, ferrous metals, soap and detergents, electrical machinery, plastics and polymeric materials, and others.

The TOP-5 importers in terms of imported products are the following companies:

Import operations were mainly carried out by trade, food, processing, and machine-building enterprises.

Source: information for the article was taken from open online sources