Bulgaria’s parliament has overridden the presidential veto on an agreement to supply Ukraine with used armored personnel carriers (APCs), ratified earlier by parliament, The Sofia Globe reports.
“The Bulgarian National Assembly voted on December 8 to override President Rumen Radev’s veto of the agreement between the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Bulgaria’s supply of used APCs to Ukraine, ratified by parliament last month,” the newspaper said.
The motion to override the veto was passed with 161 votes in favor and 55 against.
The agreement stipulates that Bulgaria will supply APCs and existing weapons, as well as spare parts. The vehicles were purchased in the 1980s and have been mothballed for several decades.
In addition, on December 8, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted overwhelmingly (145 in favor, 55 against) to provide additional military assistance to Ukraine, to allow the use of Bulgarian airspace for training Ukrainian F-16 pilots, and to allow a limited number of Ukrainian military personnel to transit or stay in Bulgaria for training.
Additional military assistance would include Bulgaria providing Ukraine with malfunctioning, obsolete, and surplus air defense missiles. The military assistance also includes allowing Ukrainian infantry or mechanized companies of up to 160 personnel per year to transit or stay in Bulgaria for training.
On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö decided to send another military equipment to help Ukraine on the proposal of the government.
According to the Finnish government’s website, this will be the 20th delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. The replacement of the defense equipment contained in this package will cost Finland approximately EUR100 million.
“The total compensation value of the 20 packages of Finnish defense equipment now amounts to EUR 1.5 billion,” said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen.
For operational reasons, and to ensure that the aid reaches its destination safely, no further information will be disclosed about the contents of the package, the method of delivery or the schedule.
The government noted that the decision to provide additional assistance took into account both the needs of Ukraine and the resources of the Finnish Defense Forces.
“The prospects for security in Europe and Finland in the current decade are at stake in Ukraine’s defense struggle. Together with our allies, we remain unwavering in our commitment to support Ukrainians,” Mr. Kaikkonen emphasized.
The Australian government has allocated $AU 20 million for a military aid package for Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during his visit to Washington, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Australia Vasyl Miroshnychenko said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“20 million Australian dollars (USD 12.7 million – IF-U) will be used to purchase new products from the Australian military-industrial complex, including anti-submarine weapons (Droneshield), mine-clearing equipment (Minelab), mobile X-ray machines (Micro-X) and industrial 3D printers (SPEE3D),” he wrote.
The ambassador also announced that the Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail reconnaissance aircraft has arrived at the Ramstein base and will begin its work in the airspace of Eastern Europe.
Vasyl Miroshnychenko thanked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Defense Minister Richard Marles and Minister of Defense Pat Conroy for their support of Ukraine.
The United States has approved a new $600 million package of arms and ammunition under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the US Department of Defense website reports.
“This package includes equipment to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, artillery ammunition, and other capabilities,” the release says.
The new $600 million defense assistance package includes
– equipment to support and integrate Ukraine’s air defense systems;
– additional ammunition for the Highly Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
– 105-mm artillery rounds;
– electronic warfare and electronic countermeasures;
– destructive ammunition for clearing obstacles;
– equipment for demining;
– support and equipment for training, maintenance and sustainment.
“The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to meet its immediate combat needs and long-term security assistance requirements,” the Pentagon emphasized.
Finland will send the 18th military aid package to Ukraine.
“The cost of the military equipment to be supplied will be about 94 million euros,” the government of the republic said on Friday.
The total cost of all the aid provided by Finland will be about 1.3 billion euros.
The exact content of the aid and the delivery schedule are not disclosed for reasons of ensuring safe delivery.
On Wednesday, during a visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Finland would soon decide on a new military aid package.
“Artillery, ammunition, and air defense equipment, in particular, are now of central importance in Ukraine. Ukraine needs air defense to protect not only its cities and citizens, but also commercial routes, such as grain shipments in the Black Sea,” he told a meeting of his National Conservative Party’s parliamentary faction on Friday.
He noted that Ukraine will host an exhibition for defense equipment manufacturers in the fall.
“I call on all Finnish defense industry operators to take advantage of this opportunity and participate in export work,” Orpo urged.
Lithuania has transferred a new military aid package worth 41 million euros to Ukraine, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
According to the Defense Ministry, the package includes Carl Gustaf ammunition, rifles, maritime surveillance radar kits, 5.56 mm caliber ammunition, generators, and antidrones, among others.
NASAMS rocket launchers will also be transferred to Ukraine.
“Lithuania’s contribution to Ukraine’s freedom struggle has already amounted to millions of rounds of ammunition and thousands of weapons, and in return, valuable lessons have been learned and Lithuania’s defense has been strengthened. Lithuania continues to provide unwavering support to Ukraine, which today celebrates the 32nd anniversary of its independence, and the total amount of military assistance provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the war has already exceeded half a billion euros,” the press release quoted Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas as saying.
According to the Defense Ministry, in the first seven months of this year, Lithuania supplied Ukraine with Mi-8 helicopters, L-70 anti-aircraft guns with ammunition, M113 armored personnel carriers, millions of rounds of ammunition, and ammunition for grenade launchers.
“Lithuania also provides expert advice, contributes to international funds to support Ukraine, contributes to the training of Ukrainian soldiers, holds courses for them, and Lithuanian military instructors participate in Operation Interflex, during which, together with other NATO allies, train Ukrainian soldiers in the subtleties of combat,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also noted that medical and rehabilitation institutions of the country had received about 200 wounded Ukrainian servicemen and planned to receive more.
