Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has returned to the parliament for further discussion the law on ratification of the agreement under which Bulgaria provides armored vehicles to Ukraine free of charge, the Bulgarian media outlet Nova reported, citing the press centre of the Presidential Administration.

The reasoning part of the veto states that MPs were not sufficiently familiar with the specific parameters of the transfer, which deprives them of the opportunity to assess objectively whether the equipment provided is obsolete.

Radev said that the document did not consider the wartime tasks assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the needs of the Main Departments of Border Police and Fire Safety and Public Safety. It is noted that the armored vehicles with a large carrying capacity provided to Ukraine could be used to protect the Bulgarian border and assist the population in the event of disasters and accidents, including in remote areas.

“I am guided by the belief that the safety, health and lives of Bulgarian citizens should be a top priority,” Radev added.

On November 22, the Bulgarian parliament voted to ratify an agreement between the Bulgarian Interior Ministry and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which regulates the transfer of 100 used armored personnel carriers from Sofia to Kyiv.

The type of APCs was not officially named, but most likely it is the BTR-60 (the country’s armed forces also have MT-LBs in service). It is known that these vehicles were purchased for the Bulgarian Internal Troops over 40 years ago, were not used and were stored in a warehouse, which required resources for their maintenance.

Gwara’s choice

Kozak armoured vehicles handed over to Kharkiv Region’s Special Forces. The KORD special forces unit of the National Police of Kharkiv region has received two Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers Kozak. The equipment was purchased at the expense of the regional budget; each vehicle costs about UAH 12.8 million/ $355,000.