Bulgaria's New Government Bans State Arms Supplies to Ukraine

Bulgaria's new government has banned state arms supplies to Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reports. The measure stops government-to-government transfers but leaves commercial exports by Bulgaria's sizable defense industry untouched, which analysts say suggests the move is directed largely at a domestic audience rather than at Kyiv's actual supply.

Bulgaria has been an important, if often quiet, source of ammunition for Ukraine. The exemption for private sales means weapons may continue to reach Ukraine through commercial channels even as the government distances itself politically from the war effort.

The step fits a wider pattern in parts of Europe, where governments are recalibrating support for Ukraine as the United States accelerates its own military withdrawal from the continent. The result is a more fragmented European posture at a moment when the war's costs and risks are increasingly falling on Europe itself.