First NATO country sends tanks to Ukraine: Czech Republic provides T-72 tanks and armoured infantry vehicles following Zelensky’s plea for help
- BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles and a dozen T-72 tanks have been sent to Ukraine
- Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to deliver military aid to Kyiv
- Raised concerns that NATO may get dragged into Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine
- Plan to send 28 MiG Polish fighter jets to Kyiv last month was scrapped over fear
The Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to send tanks to Ukraine, providing T-72 and armoured infantry vehicles following President Zelensky’s plea for help.
Several BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, howitzer artillery pieces and more than a dozen T-72 tanks were yesterday loaded on a train bound for Ukraine, footage published by Czech Television showed.
The delivery is understood to be a gift agreed on by NATO allies, raising fears the trans-Atlantic bloc could be dragged into the Russian war in Ukraine despite remaining on the sidelines for more than a month.
NATO leaders have so far given Ukraine anti-tank and anti-craft missiles as well as small arms and protective equipment, but have not offered any heavy armour or fight jets.
A proposal to transfer 28 MiG jets from Poland to Ukraine via the US was scrapped amid NATO concerns about getting drawn into conflict with Russia.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova told parliament yesterday: ‘I will only assure you that the Czech Republic is helping Ukraine as much as it can and will continue to help by [supplying] military equipment, both light and heavy.’
She declined to provide further details on the transfer but it comes after Ukraine’s Vlodymyr Zelensky demanded NATO deliver armour, fighter jets and other military equipment during a summit in Brussels on March 24.
Prague, and neighbouring Slovakia, are also considering helping repair and refit damaged Ukrainian military equipment. Germany will sent several dozen infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv and the UK has approved the delivery of 20 ambulances.
The Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to send tanks to Ukraine, providing T-72 and armoured infantry vehicles following President Zelensky’s plea for help (pictured, tanks loaded on a train bound for Ukraine on Tuesday)
Several BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles (pictured) and more than a dozen T-72 tanks were yesterday loaded on a train bound for Ukraine, footage published by Czech Television showed
The delivery is understood to be a gift agreed on by NATO allies, raising fears the trans-Atlantic bloc could be dragged into the Russian war in Ukraine despite remaining on the sidelines for more than a month
The Czech delivery has been funded by Prague as well as private donors who have contributed to a crowdsourced fundraising campaign to supply arms to Kyiv, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It comes after Zelensky last week called begged for more tanks, planes and missiles to fend off Vladimir Putin’s troops.
Ukraine burns through in a single day the same amount of weaponry it receives in a week, according to a senior Polish official, and Kyiv’s eastern neighbours are concerned with keeping up with demand.
The bloc is set to discuss the delivery of more weapons to Ukraine at a meeting today and tomorrow, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Equipment under discussion include more advanced air-defense systems as well as US Javelin antitank weapons.
NATO leaders have so far given Ukraine anti-tank and anti-craft missiles as well as small arms and protective equipment, but have not offered any heavy armour or fight jets (pictured, Czech tanks on a train bound for Ukraine)
Prague, and neighbouring Slovakia, are also considering helping repair and refit damaged Ukrainian military equipment (pictured, Czech tanks on a train bound for Ukraine)
The bloc is set to discuss the delivery of more weapons to Ukraine at a meeting today and tomorrow, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
NATO has already supplied fuel, ammunition, helmets, protective gear and medical supplies to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said yesterday. The discussions come despite the bloc’s desperate efforts to avoid being dragged into Putin’s war in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden has in recent weeks ordered more US troops to NATO’s eastern flank to reassure edgy allies and pledged to protect the bloc’s territory if Russian forces stray over more borders.
A visibly angry Zelensky on March 26 demanded that Western nations hand over military hardware that was ‘gathering dust’ in stockpiles, saying Ukraine needed just one per cent of NATO’s aircraft and one per cent of its tanks.
Zelensky accused the West of holding back on supplies because of ‘intimidation’ from Moscow and suggested Russia is in charge of NATO.
Zelensky accused the West of holding back on supplies because of ‘intimidation’ from Moscow and suggested Russia is in charge of NATO
A car is seen riddled with bullet holes on the street on April 5, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Milley said the war in Ukraine could last for years
Referring to NATO, Zelensky bristled: ‘If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had one per cent of their courage.’
And in a late night address on Saturday, Zelensky said: ‘We need more ammunition. We’ve already been waiting 31 days. What is NATO doing?
‘Who is in charge of the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it really still Moscow, because of intimidation? We are asking for one per cent of what NATO has, nothing more.’
Russia’s constant artillery barrages and aerial bombing are reducing Ukrainian cities to rubble, killing thousands of people and driving millions to flee their homes.
The leader hailed his troops fighting in Mariupol, the besieged port city that has suffered some of the war’s greatest horrors, as ‘heroes’ before calling on the West to have ‘one per cent’ of his soldiers’ courage and provide Ukraine with hard armour.
‘I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,’ Zelensky said in a video address early on Sunday.
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