Ukraine and Bulgaria signed a 10-year security agreement in Kyiv on 30 March, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also announcing Bulgaria's accession to NATO's PURL weapons pipeline and commitment to use EU SAFE credits for joint weapons production, at a joint press conference with Bulgaria's acting Prime Minister Andrii Gyurov. The deal, blocked for over a year by Bulgaria's pro-Russian president, was signed weeks before the April elections, where pro-Russian forces are leading in polls.
Joint weapons production financed by EU SAFE credits
One of the agreement's key pillars, Zelenskyy said, is joint production of various weapons — including drones — on the territory of both countries. Bulgaria will use credit funds from the EU's SAFE rearmament program to finance this co-production. Bulgaria has applied for €3.26 bn of the EU's €150 bn SAFE credit pool, earmarked for 3D radars, ground-based air defense and missile defense systems, 155mm self-propelled howitzers and ammunition, and attack and reconnaissance drones for the army and Special Operations Forces.
Bulgaria joins PURL
Zelenskyy also thanked Bulgaria for joining NATO's PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism. PURL, established by the US and NATO on 14 July 2025, allows European countries to fund purchases of US-made weapons drawn directly from American stockpiles and shipped to Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Bulgaria's accession will help strengthen Ukraine's air defense strategy before the next heating season.
Political context
The agreement had been blocked for over a year by then-Bulgarian President Rumen Radev— a known opponent of military support for Ukraine — and the previous caretaker PM, who refused to sign the deal as recently as December 2024. The current interim government signed it ahead of Bulgaria's parliamentary elections on 19 April, where pro-Russian forces, including Radev's allies, are polling ahead.
Gyurov told reporters at the press conference that Bulgaria would "continue to support Ukraine and walk together on the path to our common future in the European Union and NATO."
