Belgian government approves largest military aid package for Ukraine

The government of Belgium has approved the largest package of military aid for Ukraine, worth 92 million euros.

Source: RTBF media, citing Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers in Brussels; European Pravda 

The package includes anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank weapons, machine guns, grenades and ammunition. All this will be provided from defence stockpiles, as well as equipment that will later be ordered and purchased from the private arms sector.

Ludivine Dedonder, Belgian Defence Minister, has stated that "today this substantial assistance, which complements the assistance of our partners, aims to enable the Ukrainian army to deter a new offensive from Russia".

Quote: "Ukraine must be able to defend itself from brutal Russian aggression. That is why Belgium is strengthening its military support for Ukraine with the largest aid package to date.

Ukraine will win this war. Our security and our values are also at stake," de Croo wrote on Twitter.

This new tranche of military aid brings Belgium's total military assistance to 186 million euros, with 44 million euros allocated for fuel.

Belgium is also planning significant humanitarian aid, the volume of which can be compared to the military component. Three sectors have been identified for this assistance, in particular support for schools to ensure children's education; assistance and treatment of the wounded; and supporting the population to guarantee access to energy, in particular by supplying generators and repairing damaged infrastructure.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also provide support to the IAEA in monitoring Ukraine's civil nuclear infrastructure. Belgium has a well-known expertise in ensuring the safety of nuclear power plant equipment. 

Apart from that, Belgium has pledged to actively participate in the creation of a more effective system of sanctions in the diamond sector to reduce the flow of diamonds of Russian origin to the Antwerp diamond market.

Russia is one of the largest exporters of rough diamonds. Last year, Antwerp imported rough diamonds worth 1.8 billion euros from Russia. 

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