Balkan countries refuse to supply arms and ammunition to Ukraine directly, but do so through third countries. This was stated by military expert Dmytro Snegiryov in an exclusive commentary to UNN.
Experts in the comments to UNN note that the arms market is now fiercely competitive, and Russia still uses its influence on countries that have Soviet-style ammunition to prevent Ukraine from receiving shells. At the same time, the Balkan countries still have warehouses with Soviet weapons, which can be bought cheaper than NATO weapons. However, some of these countries still refuse to supply these weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, as they keep them as their national stockpile to preserve their defense capabilities.
"Not directly. Serbia, for example, supplies through third countries. But this is in accordance with their domestic legislation. There are no questions here. Bulgaria works through third countries. They have production facilities and are actively working," said Dmytro Snegiryov.
According to him, there is a lot of competition in the ammunition market, but it is worth noting that the production of artillery shells is growing. In particular, a German plant has announced plans to double the production of such shells in 2023.
"Such dynamics indicate an increase in the production of artillery shells, despite the Russian side's statements that the European defense industry is not ready to work. On the contrary, they are working around the clock and, as they say, in three shifts," the expert noted.
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The vast majority of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' weapons before the full-scale invasion were, to varying degrees, Soviet inheritance. Therefore, the weapons themselves, spare parts and ammunition are produced mostly in the former Warsaw Pact countries. Some of the states that have the ammunition Ukraine needs are hostile, such as Russia and Belarus. Ukraine received all possible assistance from other post-socialist countries that joined the EU (Poland, Czech Republic, etc.).
However, there remains a group of Balkan states that, despite the European integration processes in some of them and support for Ukraine, are still under the strong influence of the Russian Federation. In these states, friends of Russia are still in power and have a significant impact on the policies of their countries. In practice, this is manifested in the fact that despite their overwhelming support for Ukraine, they refuse to supply us with weapons and ammunition directly. Therefore, Ukraine is forced to purchase ammunition from these countries through a number of intermediaries.