NEW GOVERNMENT ENDS MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE

SOFIA, JUNE 9 /SRNA/ – Bulgaria will no longer send weapons to Ukraine, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said.

"We have already made it clear that the war in Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield. What we are witnessing is a war of attrition and regardless of how many weapons are accumulated, its only result is the loss of human lives," Stoyanov told reporters in Sofia.

He stressed that "Ukraine needs more people, not more weapons," according to the Associated Press.

"They have sufficient armaments, so we do not expect to send any additional weapons to the Ukrainian military," Stoyanov stressed.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev, whose government took office after a decisive victory in April, has opposed arming Ukraine for years and has repeatedly called for a "diplomatic solution".

Stoyanov said the time had come to sit down at the negotiating table and "seek a just peace defined by both sides".

He also announced Bulgaria's plan to increase defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product by 2030.

Bulgaria, a member of both NATO and the European Union, has provided military assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in 2022.

The shipments, consisting mainly of Soviet-era weaponry, played an important role in the early stages of the conflict. Due to political controversy at home, most deliveries were carried out through third countries.