OREANDA-NEWS. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov confirmed in Brussels that his country would not provide military assistance to Ukraine. According to him, cited by TASS, at the moment we are talking about strengthening Bulgaria itself: 150 British troops are ready to join the emerging Bulgarian battle group, and negotiations are also underway with Italy.

"Bulgaria is doing everything possible to support Ukraine, but without providing it with direct military assistance," the head of the Bulgarian government said on Thursday, March 24, to journalists in Brussels.

Petkov noted that the formation of a Bulgarian battle group continues on the territory of the country, to which, according to him, 150 British soldiers are ready to join. The Prime Minister also announced talks with Italy, and the dispatch of a company of Stryker armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) to Bulgaria previously agreed with the United States.

"There will be a strong battle group in Bulgaria under Bulgarian command," he said.

On March 18, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry declared ten Russian diplomats persona non grata. As Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova noted, this is an extremely unfriendly act on the part of Sofia, so Moscow reserves the right to retaliate.

Recall that the day before, on March 23, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO would not send peacekeepers to Ukraine, as it is not "part of the conflict."