Bulgarian arms exports increased by 200% since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bogdan Bogdanov, Minister of Economy of Bulgaria, announced this on Monday, Euractiv reports.

Last year, Bulgaria’s arms export was worth €1.7 billion, equal to 2% of the country’s gross domestic product.

“The Bulgarian arms industry is developing, and the goal is to modernize the production. We are trying to ensure a safe environment for the people who work in these factories,” the Minister of Economy added.

Bulgaria is trying to quickly adapt its factories to produce weapons systems and 155-mm ammunition.

The publication notes that almost all the weapons produced in 2022 were exported through intermediaries to Ukraine.

Last year, Bulgaria mostly supplied Kyiv with ammunition for old Soviet-era weapons systems, which Ukraine continues to rely heavily on the battlefield with the Russian invaders.

Export through intermediaries was the result of the policy of the pro-Russian President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party, who refused to sell weapons directly to Ukraine.

Currently, the country is governed by a pro-Western government, for which arms supplies are not a taboo.

According to the Minister of Economy, Bulgaria has taken all necessary measures to increase the safety of production and people at defense plants.

Defense Minister Todor Tagarev reported on Sunday that Bulgaria is constantly receiving requests of what Ukraine needs to protect itself from Russian aggression.

Last week, Militarnyi reported that Bulgaria will consider the transfer of about 100 armored personnel carriers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs warehouses to Ukraine as defense assistance.