site.btaBulgaria Has Supplied 13 Aid Packages to Ukraine Since War Started Four Years Ago

On the fourth anniversary of Russia's war on Ukraine, the Bulgarian government said that the Defence Ministry has provided 13 aid packages to Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict. The information is available on the Council of Ministers’ Public Access to Information Platform.

The Defence Ministry does not disclose the contents of the packages. Details of the military assistance and its value constitute classified information, the ministry says. The most recent package was approved by a decision of the Council of Ministers on February 12, 2026.

By launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia sent shockwaves around the world and unleashed the bloodiest and most destructive conflict in Europe since the Second World War, AFP notes.

“In the context of our country’s membership of the European Union and NATO, Bulgaria pursues a consistent policy of engagement in providing humanitarian and defensive assistance to Ukraine. With regard to its provision, the MoD strictly adheres to the Agreement with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on the free-of-charge supply of armaments, equipment and ammunition, signed on December 5, 2022,” the Defence Ministry explained.

Classified information

The Bulgarian National Assembly ratified the Agreement with Ukraine on December 16, 2022, and at the time decided that the list of weapons would not be published in the State Gazette.

The reason the two lists were classified is that they form part of a report containing comprehensive information on the armaments of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, including wartime and peacetime formations, their weaponry and equipment, the then caretaker defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov explained. Not all countries disclose such information and, where they do, it is often only partial, he said at the time.

Over the years, some politicians have nevertheless revealed parts of the equipment sent. In 2023, the National Assembly approved the provision to Ukraine of armoured transport vehicles together with their available armament. The legislature also decided to support Ukraine with defective, surplus or obsolete man-portable air-defence systems and anti-aircraft missiles of various types held by the Bulgarian Armed Forces, to be used to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence.

At the end of 2024, the then caretaker defence minister Atanas Zapryanov said that Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems from Bulgaria were in Ukraine.

Comparison with other countries

Some of the countries assisting Ukraine periodically announce the value of their support.

Sweden’s military support since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022 amounts to EUR 9.7 billion, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson has said. At the end of January, Poland announced it was preparing its 47th military aid package for Ukraine, worth EUR 220–230 million.

Military aid to Ukraine fell to its lowest level in 2025 and was provided almost entirely by Europeans, whose efforts to compensate for the withdrawal of the United States prevented a complete interruption, AFP reported earlier this month, citing research by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany.

In the previous year, Kyiv’s allies provided EUR 36 billion in military assistance, 14% less than the year before (EUR 41.1 billion in 2024).

The Kiel Institute notes “growing disparities” among European donors, with Northern and Western European countries providing around 95% of the military aid.

Northern Europe, which accounts for 8% of the combined GDP of European countries providing aid to Ukraine, supplied 33% of European military assistance in 2025, while Southern Europe (19% of GDP) contributed only 3%.

Humanitarian assistance

Through the Ministry of Defence, Bulgaria has also assisted Ukraine by providing accommodation and subsistence to displaced persons granted temporary protection in this country, under the Humanitarian Assistance Programme.

Among the items sent to Ukraine are helmets, body armour, medical kits, winter clothing and footwear.

Compensation

At the beginning of 2025, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov announced that more than BGN 400 million had been received by his ministry as compensation for military assistance provided to Ukraine. Through assistance to Ukraine, cumulatively and bilaterally, via the United States and the European Commission over time – though not this year – Bulgaria is expected to receive further compensation that could exceed BGN 600 million, Zapryanov added.

On February 3, 2026, the MoD published a report on one year in office, stating that it had continued its consistent policy of support for Ukraine, including the provision of military-technical assistance, “which is in our strategic interest”, in line with decisions of the National Assembly.