After months of delays, 100 Bulgarian armored personnel carriers are on their way to Ukraine by rail, Bulgaria's Defense Minister Todor Tagarev confirmed on March 14.
Tagarev initially said on Feb. 2 that the armored personnel carriers were on the way to Ukraine, but news emerged on Feb. 20 that the delivery had been delayed, as the Bulgarian Defense Ministry was asking NATO to cover the transport costs.
Bulgaria's parliament approved two tranches of military aid to Ukraine on Dec. 8, 2023, including the delivery of the armored vehicles free of charge, together with armaments and spare parts.
The suggestion to dispatch the vehicles, acquired during the final years of Bulgaria's communist regime, was made public and ratified by the National Assembly in the summer of 2023.
The total cost of the transportation exceeded 170,000 leva ($95,000) and involved 240 military personnel, according to Tagarev.
While the minister did not specify when the entire group of armored personnel carriers would arrive in Ukraine, he said the first train left on March 7 and has since arrived in Ukraine.
According to Bulgarian news outlet News.bg, the vehicles are being reported in sets of six.
Tagarev admitted that "with better organization, the armored personnel carriers could have been sent faster," News.bg reported.
Initially a hesitant partner, Bulgaria has become increasingly supportive of Ukraine as the war has progressed. In its December decision, the country's parliament greenlit not only the armored vehicles but also the supply of Soviet-era air defense missiles to Ukraine.
Oleksandr Tartachnyi
