Russia Steps Up Military Aid to Assad, Bulgaria Involved - Report

Russia has recently stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, according to sources with knowledge of the deliveries.

Moscow has supplied dozens of armored vehicles, drones and guided bombs to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad over the past few weeks, the sources have told Reuters, as cited by The Jerusalem Post.

"Dozens of Antonov 124s (Russian transport planes) have been bringing in armored vehicles, surveillance equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems, spare parts for helicopters, and various weapons including guided bombs for planes," a Middle East security source said.

"Russian advisers and intelligence experts have been running observation UAVs around the clock to help Syrian forces track rebel positions, analyze their capabilities, and carry out precision artillery and air force strikes against them," said the source, who declined to be identified.

A spokesman for Russia's arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport has declined to comment.

"Equipment has been moving into Syria, and Russia is either bringing it in themselves or sourcing supplies from Black Sea areas like Bulgaria, Romania or Ukraine, where there is surplus stock floating around," the anonymous source also said. "Suppliers in that region cannot afford to upset the Russians."

Arms trackers say Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine all have stockpiles of Russian-styled light arms that were produced in the countries dating back to the Soviet era, when factories were set up with help from Moscow.

A Bulgarian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Bulgaria's intergovernmental council, which oversees arms trades, had not issued any certificates for arms deals destined for Syria.

"We have data that shows that Bulgaria has not authorized any arms sales to Syria," he said, as cited by The Jerusalem Post.

Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said it was "very unlikely" that Bulgaria, as a NATO and EU member, would be involved in such shipments.

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