Some photos that appeared online may indicate the delivery to the Defense Forces of Ukraine of a certain number of 122-mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery that could have been sold by Bulgaria.
The specific green color of these howitzers may indicate the possible "Bulgarian" origin of such self-propelled artillery. Moreover, we can recall a report from March 2024 that Bulgaria is probably still preparing to supply Ukraine with a certain amount of equipment from its storage, including 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers.
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When exactly the 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers could have been received from Bulgaria is an open question. It can be said that the transfer of these artillery systems took place in a mysterious atmosphere. Especially when the Bulgarian military and political leadership publicly demonstrated inertia in terms of decisions on weapons for Ukraine.
According to the Military Balance 2023, at the beginning of last year, the Bulgarian army had 48 units of 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers at its disposal. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Bulgaria supplied these wepons to Ukrainian army from its stockpiles.
It should also be noted that a few days ago it became known that the Armed Forces of Ukraine received 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers in mysterious camouflage, which could have been transferred by Finland. In that case, there was no data on the time of possible delivery and the number of howitzers transferred too.
In addition, this list should include the fact that in 2023 Poland sold 22 units of 2S1 Gvozdika artillery to Ukraine. Therefore, the question arises as to whether the transfer of Warsaw Pact artillery systems to Ukraine would be appropriate at all.
In fact, the most favorable option for Ukraine in the current situation would be a mass transfer of 155-mm artillery of NATO standard caliber. But there may be some restrictions. In particular, the lack of ammunition of the appropriate caliber on the global arms market.
In addition, the Defense Forces of Ukraine need artillery systems urgently, and the process of contracting and waiting for the delivery of new howitzers can take a long time. Therefore, in these realities the Armed Forces of Ukraine are to receive 12 more PzH 2000s from the Bundeswehr in December 2024, while at the same time, supplies of 2S1 Gvozdika artillery from Eastern European stocks continue.
Earlier Defense Express reported about real effectiveness of thermal camouflage on full display in Ukrainian field.
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