Zelenskiy Expected To Visit Sofia On Same Day As Parliamentary Vote On Ukraine's Membership In NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on July 3

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will visit Bulgaria on July 6, according to Bulgarian media reports confirmed by RFE/RL.

Though the Council of Ministers said it could not confirm the reports, sources within the ruling majority told RFE/RL they were true.

Information about Zelenskiy's visit first appeared in Bulgarian news media on July 4. It was also published by Ukrainian media, but only quoting the Bulgarian news reports.

Zelenskiy’s visit to Sofia is expected to coincide with the Bulgarian parliament's adoption of a declaration in support of Ukraine's NATO membership.

The declaration on July 4 won the support parliament's Foreign Policy Committee, and a vote on the declaration is included in the parliament's draft agenda for this week.

Bulgarian news reports say Zelenskiy's visit will be a chance for him to express gratitude for Bulgaria's assistance and make new requests for support.

The government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, who took power in early June, has signaled a break from the previous caretaker government's reluctance to provide lethal aid to Ukraine.

Despite Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's stated opposition to sending military aid to Kyiv, the government last week approved a new package. The Council of Ministers said it was in accordance with a December 2022 parliamentary vote approving an agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine on the provision of arms, equipment, and ammunition.

Zelenskiy's visit to Bulgarian, a member of NATO and the European Union, will take place just days ahead of a NATO summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius at which Ukrainian membership in NATO and new military aid is expected to be discussed.

The last time Bulgarian government representatives met with Zelenskiy was during a visit in April 2022 to Kyiv of a delegation headed by then-Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. Later, Petkov admitted that Bulgaria had sent military aid to Ukraine through third countries because of the resistance of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which was a coalition partner at the time.