Bulgaria boosts Ukraine support with vital arms supply
Bulgaria has decided to deliver its seventh support package to Ukraine in 2024. Here's why Bulgarian deliveries are among the most critical for Ukraine.
9:04 AM EST, December 4, 2024
The Bulgarian authorities announced the seventh support package this year. Unfortunately, the list of donated equipment is classified, but it is not expected to compromise the capabilities of the Bulgarian armed forces. This could involve fresh arms deliveries from the highly developed arms industry financed by the Bulgarian government or the transfer of older equipment.
It's worth noting that as of 2022, Bulgaria covered one-third of Ukraine's ammunition needs and later supplied older but still usable BTR-60 armored personnel carriers and damaged rockets for the S-300 air defense system.
Bulgarian arms industry — a massive NATO warehouse of Soviet-era equipment
The Bulgarian arms industry plays a significant role in supplying Ukraine with 82 mm and 120 mm mortar shells, 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shells, and 122 mm caliber rockets. There isn't another NATO country that can boast such a large volume of ammunition production for, among others, Soviet-type systems like the 2S1 Gvozdika, 2S3 Akatsiya, DANA M2, or BM-21 Grad.
These are essential shells with a range of 9 to 11 miles for the most popular artillery systems. For Grad rockets, depending on the version, the range falls between 12 to 25 miles. It's worth noting that the initial government deliveries from warehouses typically include the oldest ammunition since so-called "combat scrapping" is cheaper than conventional disposal.
Moreover, Bulgaria produces a large amount of ammunition in the form of mortar shells, grenades for RPG-7 launchers, and shells for SPG-9 recoilless guns. Standard PG-7VL grenades, capable of penetrating 20 inches of armor steel, are already ineffective for an ordinary soldier in the age of modern armor, but they are suitable for use on FPV drones. They have proven to be a successful way to dispose of old weapons but are characterized by low effectiveness against Russian "armored barns".
The situation is different with PG-7VT grenades, equipped with a precursor capable of dismantling reactive armor or similar barriers. Additionally, there are thermobaric RTB-7MA grenades for RPG-7, which are very effective for destroying fortifications. Ukrainians often use them as portable artillery.
