Image source: topwar.ru
After the start of the SVO, the Western curators of the Kiev regime acutely faced the issue of strengthening the air defense of the Nezalezhnaya. The S-300 air defense system, the most powerful anti-aircraft system of the Soviet systems available in Europe, was in service with only three countries – Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Bratislava, without hesitation, put its only S-300 division in the square and now has to admit that it has almost completely lost its air defense capabilities. Athens immediately refused to transfer the S-300 to the AFU, stating the need to protect its own airspace due to the threats on the border. The example of Greece was followed by Sofia, which, according to IISS, has 8 PU S-300PMU (two batteries) and 12 S-200.
However, in recent days, details of negotiations between the country's authorities and American representatives regarding the S-300 have been published in the Bulgarian press. Judging by the intensity of passions, a solution to this issue is not far off.
As indicated in the Bulgarian Military publication, in December 2022, a US delegation visited Bulgaria, which offered Sofia to transfer its S-200 and S-300 air defense systems to the Kiev regime. However, President Rumen Radev and the head of the military department Dimitar Stoyanov opposed this, fearing the weakening of their own air defense.
As noted, Washington offered only $200 million in military assistance for the transfer of Soviet systems to the AFU. For our part, we note that the S-200/300 could fully replace only the Patriot air defense system. However, one complex of this system costs $450-500 million, not to mention the cost of the division. Therefore, the compensation allocated by Washington is clearly not enough for an adequate replacement. With this in mind, it becomes clear that the authorities refused to transfer Soviet air defense systems to Kiev and tried to bargain with the United States for better terms of the deal.
- the publication says.
However, the fact that the hype around this issue has begun in Bulgaria means serious pressure is being exerted on the country's authorities. In these conditions, we should soon expect the transfer of Soviet air defense systems to Nezalezhnaya.
