Czech Republic Becomes The First NATO Country To Send Tanks To Ukraine

The Czech Republic has transferred T-72 tanks and BVP-1 army fighting vehicles to Ukraine, a Czech defence source told Reuters on Tuesday, attesting an original media report.

Public broadcaster Czech Television originally reported the payload, showing footage on Twitter of a train loaded with five tanks and five fighting vehicles. It said the payload was a gift agreed with NATO abettors.

The broadcaster said the information was verified by the head of the Czech lower house’s European Affairs Committee Ondrej Benesik, who told Reuters he entered the information from his Christian Democrat Party’s expert on defence.

The source, from the Czech defence community, also verified that the tanks and fighting vehicles had been transferred but declined to give any farther details, citing security enterprises.

Defence Minister Jana Cernochova told congress she’d not confirm or deny details of Czech aid to Ukraine.

“ I’ll only assure you that the Czech Republic … is helping Ukraine as much as it can and will continue to help by ( supplying) military outfit, both light and heavy,” Cernochova said.

A prophet for the Defence Ministry said the Czech Republic had transferred military aid worth nearly 1 billion crowns ($ 45 million) to Ukraine since the morning of the war on Feb. 24 but declined to give any farther details.

The Czech vehicles are only the rearmost illustration of military outfit coming from the West. Germany on April 1 approved the delivery to Ukraine of several dozen army fighting vehicles (IFVs) amid review that Berlin has not been transferring enough military aid to Kyiv. read more

NATO abettors will bandy the delivery of further munitions to Ukraine when foreign ministers meet on Wednesday and Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.