Weapons found on both sides of the Donbas front lines
The @DFRLab recently reported on the commercial sale of American-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Ukraine, which occurred with the approval of the U.S. Departments of Defense and State. With so much international attention focused on the delivery of lethal American aid to Ukraine, we investigated how other Western governments already delivered lethal aid to Ukraine to assist in its ongoing war against Russia and Russia-led separatists in the Donbas.
In this #MinskMonitor, we analyze how Bulgarian-made grenades are exported to Ukraine, and are being used by both sides of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Avakov’s Announcement
One of the earliest official mentions of Bulgarian-made lethal weapon exports to Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict occurred in 2015, when Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov shared information on new arms being introduced to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Avakov described how DRTG-73 anti-tank grenades were being exported to Ukraine, “for the tanks and BTRs of the aggressors.” These rocket-propelled grenades are produced by Bulgaria’s largest defense manufacturer, Vazovski Mashinostritelni Zavod (VMZ).