If Bulgarian missiles are used, they will be for the protection of people, they are not offensive missiles, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told journalists on Wednesday regarding Russia's call for Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to hand over S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Kyiv.
"These missiles or parts of them, if used in Ukraine, will be for the protection of cities like Kyiv, Odesa. They are for air defence," Denkov said.
"I think that after everything we have seen in the last year and a half, Russia is the last one that could talk about respecting international treaties," Denkov said after the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation urged Bulgaria not to hand over missiles to Ukraine to avoid violating international law.
"Bulgaria's transfer to Ukraine of missiles for S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in the combat zone will lead to an escalation of the conflict and to innocent human casualties," the Russian Federal Service said in its Wednesday's statement. According to the service, this is yet another attempt by the Bulgarian leadership to blatantly violate its international arms control obligations, despite repeated clarifications from the Russian side.
At a closed-door sitting on Wednesday, Parliament voted 141-40, with three abstentions, to approve a resolution on the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine. The aid consists of defective 5V55R surface-to-air missiles owned by the Defence Ministry and rounds of 5.56x45 mm-calibre automatic-weapon ammunition which have been discarded by the Interior Ministry.
/KK/
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