Posted 9 мая 2022,, 15:04

Published 9 мая 2022,, 15:04

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Bulgaria is ready to become a "tank repair plant" of Ukraine

Bulgaria is ready to become a "tank repair plant" of Ukraine

9 мая 2022, 15:04
Фото: Соцсети
The Parliament of Bulgaria approved the idea to repair Ukrainian military equipment at the country's defense enterprises

Alexander Sychev

This is not yet a final decision, but only permission for the government to think and act in this direction. The issued document says so: "The Parliament gives a mandate to the Council of Ministers to discuss and implement measures related to the war in Ukraine, including the repair of military equipment." About 200 deputies voted for it, 16 - against, one abstained.

The statement of the Bulgarian parliament is politically more significant than even the arms supplies carried out by Western countries led by the United States. Washington and its allies. Although they do not formally participate in the conflict and emphasize this in every possible way. But Sofia, in fact, declares itself part of the military-industrial complex of the belligerent and becomes a direct participant in the conflict as a repair base. Bulgaria declares itself a "Ukrainian logistics plant" that will receive damaged military equipment, restore it and send it to the front.

Of course, this decision is more in the nature of a political message to the outside world. And the addressee is not the Kyiv regime at all, although it is mentioned in the document. Sophia signals to Washington and NATO. It was to them that the Bulgarian politicians decided to demonstrate their devotion to the idea of fighting against Russia and solidarity with the actions being taken.

But Bulgaria, like all its current allies, could have limited itself to clearing its warehouses of moral junk in the hope of getting a replacement from the United States, not for free, of course. And there are a lot of weapons in the Bulgarian armed forces and warehouses: 80 T-72 main battle tanks of various modifications that are in service, and about 200 mothballed, 400 T-55AM2 in an unknown condition, 150 BTR-60 units, about 130 infantry fighting vehicles -23 and BMP-1. There are 12 BRDM-2 reconnaissance vehicles and 24 Konkurs self-propelled anti-tank systems. There are artillery and other weapons systems. But the Bulgarian parliamentarians decided to put their country on the front line. Do they understand how deeply they interfere, even though it seems impossible to fulfill the mandate given?

A wrecked tank will not crawl to the Bulgarian factories on its own. An armored infantry vehicle cannot be dragged by secret paths on hands. All broken weapons must be collected, loaded onto trains and sent, and then received back. In this case, the logistics are broken. Places of accumulation of weapons are destroyed by Russian precision weapons.

But it should be recognized that Bulgaria has industrial capabilities for the repair of weapons. During the times of the Warsaw Pact Organization (WTO), the Bulgarian defense industry developed rapidly and became one of the most knowledge-intensive and developed sectors of the national economy. Sofia supplied up to 65% of its weapons products to member countries of the Warsaw Pact. But in the 90s, with the collapse of the USSR and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, a deep crisis began in the industry, a way out of which was found in the supply of weapons to separatists in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other countries. Helped by Washington, which needed a large number of non-American weapons to carry out a policy of maintaining its dominance in the world.

The Bulgarian military-industrial complex managed to maintain industrial competencies. About 20 joint-stock companies and individual factories operate in the country, 12 of which are exclusively engaged in repairs. The largest assembly enterprises include the joint-stock companies Beta, Agrotechnika, Arsenal, Arkus, the state-owned joint-stock companies VAZ Machine-Building Plants, Dunarit, Trema, and NITI.

All these enterprises, in principle, could repair damaged Ukrainian equipment. Although, in addition to the unsolvable logistical problem, they will also face an acute shortage of a number of spare parts and assemblies.

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