Russia will halt the delivery of spare parts for military hardware to hostile countries, including Bulgaria. The licences for the repair of Russian/Soviet-made military equipment are being withdrawn. The decision, which affects aviation equipment, is a counter-measure for providing Ukraine with Russian and Soviet military hardware, stated Dmitry Shugaev, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation at the forum Army-2023.

Talking to reporters, Bulgaria’s Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev said there were isolated cases of Bulgarian enterprises working with such licences. In these cases, the enterprises will look for alternative sources of know-how, Minister Tagarev said. In his words Russia has much bigger claims which Bulgaria does not and will not recognize. Todor Tagarev stated further that the risks to security in the Black Sea are subject to constant analysis and that different courses of action are being discussed.

• Russian warship fires warning shots at cargo ship near the Bulgarian coast

His words came in a comment on the warning shots fired by a Russian ship against a merchant ship in the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast. Minister Tagarev added that the merchant ship had already reached its destination.