Belgian Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder met with her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
The two ministers talked about the use of Belgian-made weapons by anti-Putin militias on Russian territory, Belga News Agency reports.
The weapons were used in violation of agreements on their delivery, which specified that they were only to be used by certain troops on Ukrainian territory. Following a Washington Post investigation, Belgium officially sent a letter to authorities in Kyiv demanding explanations as to how its weapons ended up in the hands of troops from the far-right Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) fighting inside Russia’s territory.
According to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, the Federal Government had asked its intelligence services to analyse the footage published by the armed group, specifically to verify if it was indeed its weapons being used by anti-Putin militias. The armed groups were also pictured with Polish and US equipment, including heavy weaponry and vehicles.
Belgian equipment is donated under “very strict” rules, which are intended to prevent their misuse. The weapons supplied are intended to be used exclusively for defending against Russian aggression on Ukrainian territory and this was specified explicitly in accompanying documents.
At the meeting, Reznikov confirmed having received the letter sent by his Belgian counterpart and noted that “an investigation has begun”. The Ukrainian minister assured that he would contact Dedonder once this investigation had been completed.
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The exchange took place on the sideline of a meeting of the Defence Contact Group for Ukraine, which took place in a so-called “Ramstein” format. This group, led by the United States, brings together ministers from 50 countries to coordinate the delivery of weapons and other military support to Kyiv.
The group met at the Brussels headquarters of NATO, in the municipality of Haren, before a planned two-day meeting of defence ministers from NATO’s 31 member states.
