The nine eastern NATO members play a key role in supplying the Ukrainian army with military supplies. They are NATO’s hub for arms deliveries to the war zone.
This article lies IPPEN.MEDIA as part of a cooperation with Security. Table Professional Briefing before – first published him Security.Table on May 09, 2023.
Once united militarily against the West in the Warsaw Pact together with the Soviet Union, the states bordering Ukraine and Russia are now spearheading the North Atlantic Pact against Russia: Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia , Lithuania. This group, also known as the “Bucharest Nine”, forms the hub for NATO arms deliveries to Kiev during the Ukraine war.
Table.Media newsletter
Receive 30 days free access to further exclusive information of the Table.Media Professional Briefings – the decisive for the decisive in business, science, politics, administration and NGOs.
Poland
By April 2023, Poland had delivered military equipment worth 2.5 billion euros to Ukraine, primarily Soviet-designed weapon systems. Most of the western arms deliveries are handled through the Polish airport Rzeszów-Jasionka – one of the most important bases of the US Army. At the end of May, a repair hub for Leopard main battle tanks operated by Berlin together with Warsaw and Kiev will go into operation in Gliwice, Poland. The USA has been operating a repair hub in Poland since the end of 2022.
- Fighter jets: Fourteen Soviet MiG-29 jets are already in service in Ukraine or on the way there.
- Battle tanks: Warsaw has promised the government in Kiev 14 Leopard 2 A4. Also: 60 Polish-made Twardy main battle tanks, 290 T-72 main battle tanks, 92 buoyant infantry fighting vehicles (both Soviet-made), 54 Rak self-propelled mortars, armored personnel carriers and more.
- Ammunition: The Polish arms manufacturer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) will in future produce 125 mm ammunition for Soviet-designed tank guns in cooperation with the Ukrainian state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom.
Slovakia
- Fighter jets: 13 MiG-29 fighter jets had been delivered by mid-April; three of them are to be kept available as spare parts donors.
- Air defense systems: Slovakia recently surrendered two Kub anti-aircraft missile systems, a radar system and Zuzana 24 self-propelled howitzers. As early as 2022, the country handed over an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine.
- Tanks: 30 Soviet-designed infantry fighting vehicles were handed over to the Ukraine in 2022 – in a ring exchange with Germany.
On behalf of the Bundeswehr, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has created a repair hub near Michalovce to repair the Panzerhaubitze 2000, the French Caesar howitzer, the Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank, the Mars II rocket artillery system and the Dingo armored transport vehicle.
Romania
Romania’s role as a transit and laying country on NATO’s south-eastern flank is central to the western defense alliance. Recently, it has also become Ukraine’s most important diesel supplier, ahead of Poland and Turkey. The fact that little is known about the nature and extent of military aid to Ukraine may be due to Romania’s historical and political ties to neighboring Moldova. Overly open support for Ukraine could put the government there, which is critical of Russia, under pressure.
Czech Republic
Two weeks after the beginning of the war, the Czech Republic delivered large quantities of armaments. However, the government only announced exact figures in February 2023: among other things, there were 89 main battle tanks, 226 infantry fighting vehicles, 38 howitzers, six air defense systems and four attack helicopters, 33 multiple rocket launchers, 60,000 pieces of ammunition, one and a half million rounds of rifle ammunition and other ammunition. Total value: 420 million euros.
Bulgaria
As of December 2022, Bulgaria did not officially supply arms or ammunition to Ukraine. However, research by the newspaper Welt shows that Bulgarian armaments reached Ukraine via intermediary companies, for example in Poland, especially in the early months of the war. Bulgaria has weapons of Soviet design and produces the appropriate ammunition. Bulgaria, which is itself dependent on Russian energy supplies, has also supplied significant amounts of fuel. In December 2022, the Bulgarian parliament decided to officially allow arms sales to Ukraine.
Hungary
Hungary has so far officially rejected the transport of armaments through its territory. However, the investigative portal Atlatszo reported on April 28 that on several days in February 2023 light military helicopters landed at the Hungarian airports Györ and Tököl, which were proven to be a donation from France to Ukraine. After maintenance, the helicopters flew to Rzeszów in Poland. In addition, many military transport flights used the airspace of Hungary with permission.
Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania
Measured by their share of their gross domestic product, the Baltic States are among the leading donor nations: Latvia 1.2 percent, Estonia 1.1 percent, Lithuania 0.9 percent. Among other things, Estonia supplies missiles for the Javelin anti-tank missile system, howitzers, anti-tank mines and anti-tank grenade launchers. Latvia is mainly involved with Stinger missiles, Lithuania with anti-aircraft guns. In June 2022, Rheinmetall set up a maintenance center with KMW in Lithuania. Combat vehicles of the Lithuanian and other NATO forces stationed in the Baltic States are repaired here. At times, Western military material that Ukraine had received was also repaired there. (By Lisa-Martina Klein)
#Hub #supplies #Ukraine