At a recent briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Bulgaria, alongside Poland, Finland, and Romania, of taking part in the smuggling of Western weapons from Ukraine. She claimed this illicit trade is tightly controlled by organized crime groups, supported by corrupt officials.

Update with response from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry read at the end of the article, below.

Zakharova detailed that weapons are trafficked out of Ukraine through multiple routes, involving transit via Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, and Moldova, with the latter serving as a key hub. She insisted that the smuggling occurs openly in the Balkans, not hidden behind covert internet deals.

She added that Finland, a new NATO member, has joined as a transit point, while sea routes from the port of Odesa facilitate arms shipments to Bulgaria, Turkey, Montenegro, and parts of Africa. Air routes from western Ukraine also deliver smuggled weapons, including to the Middle East.

The spokeswoman accused Ukraine’s military leadership, special services, and corrupt officials of overseeing the massive smuggling operations. She warned that terrorists use these weapons for criminal purposes. Zakharova concluded by cautioning Western taxpayers funding Ukraine, claiming they are “planting a time bomb” at home by backing Kyiv.

It is an open secret that Bulgaria does not import but rather secretly sends weapons to Odesa. Shipments are dispersed by trucks from various towns where there are ammunition and weapons plants - Kazanlak, Ruse, Lyaskovets, Troyan. All under the watchful eye of the Balkans’ most organized crime syndicate, with a discreet nod from NATO and the EU.

Maria Zakharova claims to have all the facts, yet she’s completely turned them upside down - while the real truth tells a very different story.

Update: The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) firmly rejected recent accusations made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who claimed that Bulgaria was involved in smuggling Western weapons out of Ukraine. The Bulgarian side described the remarks as part of a broader hostile disinformation effort aimed at undermining countries that back Ukraine.

In an official response, the MFA dismissed Zakharova’s statements as entirely unfounded, lacking in evidence, and categorically false. The ministry emphasized that Bulgaria, as a committed member of the European Union and NATO, adheres strictly to all international export control regimes and meets the highest standards in terms of transparency and legal compliance in arms transfers.

According to the MFA, every aspect of Bulgaria’s arms trade policy is subject to rigorous oversight by both national and allied institutions. The ministry underlined that these procedures are governed by established international norms and are implemented with full accountability.

The Bulgarian government interpreted Zakharova’s claims as part of a wider hybrid attack, orchestrated by the Kremlin, targeting EU and NATO countries that have shown support for Ukraine’s legitimate right to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing full-scale military aggression.

The MFA called the Russian statement "another episode" in a calculated effort to discredit Bulgaria and other states that stand in solidarity with Ukraine, reaffirming its position that such tactics will not deter the country from upholding its commitments within the EU and NATO frameworks.