The Bulgarian government has approved an emergency allocation of $263.3 million for the first installment for the purchase of Stryker armored vehicles. Payment must be made by December 15th.

The agreement approved by the parliament will allow overcoming part of the deficit of capabilities in the Ground Forces of the Bulgarian Army in a short period of time, the Ministry of Defense said. The deal envisages the purchase of 198 combat and support vehicles, as 183 of them are from the Stryker family. The estimated value is 1.376 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee on defense rejected President Rumen Radev's veto on the provision of 100 old armored vehicles to Ukraine. During the debate, it became clear that the machines are 43-years-old and cannot be repaired in Bulgaria.