According to the daily, the amount of the operation amounts to 11 million euros and concerns lethal and non-lethal weapons as well as protection and night vision devices.
The equipment is already available and will be purchased from Belgian companies: FN Herstal, manufacturer of light weapons, Sioen, which specializes in textiles and which produces bulletproof vests in particular, and OIP, which produces vision systems.
The Council of Ministers also decided to replenish part of the stocks of arms and ammunition of the Belgian army which have diminished following shipments already made to Ukraine.
At the end of February, the government had finally acceded to the requests formulated by Ukraine for the delivery of arms, and not only of protective equipment and orientation as decided at first. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès, had publicly pleaded in this direction on the sidelines of a European Foreign Affairs Council. Belgium had then delivered 2,000 FNC type rifles, an assault rifle manufactured by FN Herstal and which is gradually being replaced within the Belgian army by FN SCARs.
The expenses will be covered by a fund released by the European Union. On February 24, the European Council added a budget of 500 million euros to the “European peace facility” which contributes to the capacity building of the Ukrainian army.
The minister did not want to give any other details on the equipment concerned by this Friday’s decision, nor on the way in which it will be delivered. “For operational security reasons, we will not provide further details on the nature of the assistance provided to Ukraine. As I have already had the opportunity to indicate: our aid is intended for the regular army to enable it to defend its territorial integrity and its population against the invasion of the Russian army. Our support is done in coordination with our partners,” said the Minister.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian deputies heard by the Defense and External Relations Committees of the Chamber had urged their Belgian colleagues to also receive anti-aircraft weapons. According to MP Georges Dallemand (Les Engagés), Belgian Defense has Mistral short-range surface-to-air missile systems that are no longer in use. The minister’s office declined to comment on the matter.