Sofia has supplied Kyiv with fuel and vital Soviet-era weapons, but had to keep the supplies secret because of pro-Moscow politicians in the government. In the spring of 2022, the Ukrainian army was desperately short of fuel and Soviet ammunition to fight the Russians. Salvation came unexpectedly from Bulgaria, politico.eu and die WELT from the Axel Springer media group report, citing interviews with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Finance Minister Asen Vasilev. According to them, in the first days of the war, about 40% of the fuel for Ukraine and about 1/3 of the used shells came from Bulgaria. The supplies of ammunition for about 2 billion euros were paid by the USA and Great Britain.