Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) with former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

(Associated Press)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in Europe. The domestic political situation is divided, with pro-European and pro-Russian parties confronting each other.

In order to help Ukraine, the pro-European faction opened up a secret supply line. At the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, a large amount of diesel and missiles were shipped to Ukraine to help Ukraine survive Russia’s offensive in the spring of 2022. Among them, the diesel came from Russia’s Lukoil oil refining in Bulgaria factory processed.

"Politician" quoted sister publication Die Welt as reporting that former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and former Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said that in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the country provided what the Ukrainian army needed 30% of Soviet caliber ammunition, and for a while 40% of the diesel needed also came from Bulgaria.

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The diesel supplied to Ukraine is a refined product of Russian crude oil from Russia's Lukoil refinery in Burgas, Bulgaria, the two officials said.

Tankers and tankers travel regularly to Ukraine via Romania, and occasionally by train.

In the early days of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Bulgaria became one of Ukraine's largest diesel suppliers, and half of the output of the Burgas refinery was exported to Ukraine.

As for weapons and ammunition, since Bulgaria possessed the Soviet caliber ammunition needed by Ukraine, the then Bulgarian Prime Minister Petkov explained that Bulgaria did not directly send supplies to Ukraine, but allowed international intermediaries to sell Bulgarian ammunition to Ukraine or to NATO Member States, and maintain air transport with Poland and ground transport with Romania and Hungary.

This secret aid to Ukraine was targeted by Russia. Petkov said that since May last year, Moscow has provided government websites, Polish electricity supply and postal system through hacker networks, and the pensions of civil servants have not been paid for a time.

Not only that, Moscow has also infiltrated the government. From March to June last year, Bulgaria expelled about 70 staff members of the Russian embassy in Sofia on the grounds of espionage.

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