Bulgaria Leaves the Coalition of the Willing

Bulgaria will no longer participate in the so-called Coalition of the Willing, the group of countries coordinating military and financial support for Ukraine, President Rumen Radev announced on Tuesday.

Radev said Bulgaria believes the conflict cannot be resolved by prolonging the fighting through military means and instead called for greater diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Since taking office, Radev has consistently opposed direct Bulgarian military assistance to Ukraine. However, Bulgaria continues to export weapons and ammunition to Kyiv through commercial contracts and remains one of the European Union's largest producers of Soviet-caliber ammunition used by the Ukrainian military.

Radev has long criticized additional military support for Ukraine while rejecting accusations that he is pro-Russian. He has instead advocated what he describes as “pragmatic” relations with Moscow. In the past, he also opposed EU sanctions against Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov.

(bloomberg, lud)