Belgium announced the continuation of arms supplies to Ukraine, despite the investigation of its use in the attack near Belgorod
Belgium will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, despite investigations into cases of their use during the attack on the Belgorod region. This was announced on June 9 by the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom Ludivine Dedonder.
"Belgium will not suspend military assistance to Ukraine while waiting for a response from the Ukrainian side," Le Soir newspaper quoted her as saying.
Dedonder said that Belgium is waiting for Ukraine's response on the use of its weapons until June 15.
"If there is no answer by this moment, I will talk with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov. A document is attached to each batch of weapons supplied, which clarifies that they should be used only for the defense of Ukrainian territory, not for attacks on other states, it also states the need to respect human rights and international norms," the minister said.
She admitted that the Belgian-made assault rifles FN Scar could have been obtained by the Ukrainian military both directly and from batches purchased by other countries, or as trophies.
Dedonder also said that Belgium handed over weapons to Ukraine totaling € 274 million and trained 700 Ukrainian soldiers, and in the future will begin training pilots.
On June 4, Le Soir reported that the Belgian Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry would demand explanations from Kiev "at the first opportunity" in response to data published by The Washington Post that Ukrainian saboteurs who attacked the Belgorod region at the end of May used vehicles and weapons from the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium.
Earlier, on May 22, a sabotage and reconnaissance group (DRG) of Ukraine attempted to infiltrate the territory of the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region. The next day, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said that the remnants of the DRG that penetrated the district were thrown back to Ukraine, where strikes continued on them until complete elimination. About 70 militants were killed.
The strikes on the Russian border regions were Kiev's response to the ongoing special operation to protect Donbass, whose residents refused to recognize the results of the 2014 coup in Ukraine. Its beginning was announced on February 24, 2022 against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the shelling of Ukrainian troops.
