As part of a European partnership led by Czechia, Belgium is purchasing €200 million worth of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
Last weekend, De Croo was in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to commemorate the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the visit of Western leaders to urgently request new arms supplies. Ukraine is having a hard time at the front and is in danger of having to give up even more ground to Russia if it does not quickly receive new ammunition.
That call has not fallen on deaf ears in Europe: on Saturday, De Croo emphasised in the Ukrainian Parliament that Europe must deliver faster, and under the leadership of Czechia, there is now a kind of European group purchase of 155mm grenades, intended to hit targets 30 to 50 km away.
After the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Sweden, Belgium is now also joining in, De Croo announced on Wednesday.
The Federal Government is making €200 million available for this. "Many tens of thousands" of artillery ammunition can be purchased for that amount, although the concrete number remains dependent on market conditions.
The entire European order would already amount to between 1.5 and 2 billion grenades. The Czechs order these outside Europe (De Croo could not specify in which countries) and are also responsible for the delivery, which could take place before the end of March.
The amount comes entirely from the taxes that the Federal Government levies on the profits generated by the Russian assets frozen in Belgium – funds that will yield a total of approximately €1.5 billion this year, half of which will go to military equipment for Ukraine and the other half to humanitarian, medical or other forms of aid.
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In addition to the €200 million for the European group purchase, Belgium can release approximately €334 million through the Defence Ministry for additional military support to Ukraine, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS) announced.
This concerns €80 million in material from the stock of the Belgian army, mainly armoured vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery elements and smaller calibre ammunition. With the remaining €254 million, Belgium will supply anti-drone capabilities, missiles, other types of ammunition, demining systems and medical equipment, and will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers within the F-16 coalition.
In the humanitarian field, the government provides €150 million to invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine over the next four years, with a focus on schools, hospitals and energy infrastructure, said Development Cooperation Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit), who also visited Ukraine last weekend. That money goes to the Chernihiv region, which was heavily besieged by Russia.
