Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedondre will propose to the Belgian Cabinet on Friday to send a new memorandum “big help” To Ukraine, which will not include battle tanks because the country’s defense stock is still limited, she said Beautiful RTL.
He speaks into a microphone Beautiful RTL On Wednesday (January 25), Ms. Dedondre said she would make a formal proposal to the federal government on Friday, but noted that Belgium would not send tanks as part of the aid — its defense stocks are limited.
“This Friday, at the Council of Ministers, I will propose other aid specifically to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainians in terms of air defense and anti-tank combat, as well as in terms of ammunition.”.
Belgium decided about ten years ago to sell some of its tanks, which are no longer operational. Although they can be bought, Ms. Dedondre explains that the companies that bought the tanks are now asking for the price, which she describes as “illogical”.
These tanks were resold for the equivalent of €10-15,000 because they were decommissioned. And right now there are Belgian companies making an unbelievable margin. We have a resale price of €500,000 for each hangar-stored and unrepaired equipment.I explained.
Therefore, although the Belgian government now recognizes the need for such tanks, the country will not follow suit Germany example Who decided to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Germany made the decision after months of mounting pressure from its international partners, as well as partners in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government. Germany has already expressed reservations about the possibility of supplying tanks to Ukraine and has said this risks exacerbating the conflict and directly embroiling NATO in the war.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the US will send 31 Abrams tanks – among the most modern in the world – to Kyiv. The initiative was significantly salutation By Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Tuesday (January 24), the Belgian Minister Mrs. Didondre received a Ukrainian parliamentary delegation with whom she discussed military support and new military assistance in preparation.
We continue to work with our international partners to support Ukraine and we are united with the Ukrainian people.she has announce on Twitter.
In addition, Oleksandr Kornienko, deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, who was part of the delegation, asked the Belgian Federal Parliament to provide more weapons to his country to fight the invasion of Russia.
More weapons can bring us peace. This may seem contradictory, but it is the reality. Without these weapons, the war will continue for years to come.”Mr. Kornienko said.
Since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, Belgium has already supplied Ukraine with assault rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, anti-tank grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles.
In total, the current defense support amounts to 90 million euros in military equipment. However, it must be doubled and thus given an additional 90 million euros as part of the new aid that Belgium has provided to Ukraine, according to Ms. Didondre.
France lagging behind?
While the Western Allies alternately announced the delivery of heavy tanks to Ukraine, France did not take an official position on the delivery or non-delivery of Leclerc tanks. However, such a decision will be made ” in the coming days “to me announce France’s Armed Forces Minister, Sebastien Lecorneaux, on Wednesday France 5.
“To be honest, there is a discussion with the Ukrainians about the Leclerc tank, but without saying more, there are not most expectations on the Leclerc tank,” he said. Follow Mr. Licorno.
In spite of everything, in 2022 France contributed €550m out of the total European amount of €3bn. In particular, it sent to Ukraine about two dozen guns, more than a hundred anti-aircraft defense systems, a dozen Milan anti-tank missiles, two single-propelled grenades (LRUs).
France has also sent more than a hundred armored vehicles – including around two dozen AMX10-RC, a French-made light battle tank whose delivery was announced by Emmanuel Macron in early January.
as Research From the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which assesses military aid to Ukraine by various countries, France ranked only 10th in December in terms of arms deliveries, far behind the United States but also Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden or Poland.
In addition to armaments, last October France created a special support fund with allocations increased to 200 million euros, allowing Ukraine to equip itself directly with French manufacturers of BITD (Basic Industrial and Technological Defense).
However, out of the 200 million euros that make up this support fund, “There are almost a hundred million euros still available.” To help the Ukrainian army to purchase equipment from French manufacturers, the Minister of the Armed Forces was entrusted.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, Macron announced last week that he wanted to increase France’s defense budget by nearly 60% over seven years, thus injecting €413 billion between 2024 and 2030. The goal? “to fight a war in advance”According to the head of state.
