Bulgaria has received over €245 million in compensation for military aid to Ukraine

Reimbursements for the military and military-technical assistance provided to Ukraine by the Ministry of Defence between 2022 and October 2026 total €245,231,834. Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov reported the figure in a written response to Democratic Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev. The response was published on parliament’s website, and BTA reported it on 7 November.

Nearly 98% of compensation comes through agreements with allies

Bulgaria has received €240,120,000 through agreements with allied countries. A further €5,111,833.89 was reported under the European Peace Facility (EPF), which allows partial reimbursement of member states’ military aid expenditure.

The two channels have different financial effects. According to Stoyanov’s response, the funding under the European mechanism was deducted from the Ministry of Defence’s contributions due to the EU, rather than received as money available for new expenditure.

According to the breakdown provided, approximately 98% of the total compensation comes from agreements with allies, and around 2% from the European mechanism. Specific intergovernmental agreements are therefore the main source of the reimbursed funds.

€32.5 million received in 2026 has yet to be made available for defence ministry expenditure

The €32.5 million received in 2026 has been centralised in the state budget. At the time of the response, it had not been made available for expenditure under the Ministry of Defence budget, Stoyanov said.

Receipts in 2025 totalled €178,220,000.20. Under the Programme for Priority Strategic Investment Projects with National Funding for 2025–2028, €122,008,648.52 was allocated for expenditure under the Ministry of Defence budget. The remaining €56,211,351.68 was transferred to the state budget.

A total of €88,711,351.68 from receipts in 2025 and 2026 has been directed to the state budget. This does not mean the funding has been lost to defence, but it cannot be counted as having already been spent on Ministry of Defence investments.

For 2024, the minister reported 29.4 million. In 2025, €29,400,000 was received under the Investment Programme for National Projects and used for capital expenditure. An important distinction must be made regarding the 2025 funding: the fact that it has been earmarked for expenditure does not show how much has already been paid under contracts or what equipment has been delivered.

Bulgaria has sent 11 shipments of weapons; compensation for interior ministry equipment was refused

According to the minister, between 2022 and October 2026 Bulgaria sent Ukraine 11 shipments of ammunition and weapons worth nearly €340 million.

Stoyanov added that Bulgaria had received no compensation for the armoured transport vehicles provided to Ukraine by the Ministry of Interior. He said the compensation paperwork had been rejected as ineligible for reimbursement.

The reported total of over €245 million does not, in itself, prove that the aid has been fully compensated for or that the cost of replacing the equipment provided has been covered. Such an assessment requires comparable figures for deliveries and compensation, as well as the costs of replenishing stocks or acquiring replacement weapons. Budget reimbursement and the restoration of military capabilities are different outcomes.