Czech Republic, Netherlands, Portugal to help Ukraine fight Russia

Three NATO allies have announced that they will send reinforcements to help Ukraine fight Russia.

On Saturday, the Czech Republic pledged to send a “shipment of weapons to Ukraine” valued more than $8.5 million to a “place of Ukrainians’ choice.”

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“The government has approved a shipment of weapons to Ukraine. We are sending machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles and pistols and their corresponding ammunition valued at CZK 188 million,” Petr Fiala, the Czech Prime Minister, posted on Twitter.

“We are doing everything we can to help Ukraine,” Fiala added.

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The Netherlands announced on Saturday that it will provide further firepower to Ukraine.

“The Netherlands will supply Ukraine 200 anti-aircraft Stinger missiles. Other defence material already on its way,” Geoffrey van Leeuwen, the prime minister’s foreign affairs and defence adviser, tweeted.

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Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced on Friday that his country would send reinforcements to help Ukrainian soldiers on the ground secure their borders, claiming that the conflict “is a war against the freedom of self-determination of a democratic country and therefore it is also a war against the freedom of self-determination and against democracy.”

“There was an unanimity of all states, in view of the need to strengthen the NATO presence on the borders of Ukraine and in all the alliance countries that are close to the Ukraine region,” the Portuguese prime minister said during a televised press conference.

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“Portugal, in this sense, in addition to the forces that this year has assigned to the European command of NATO, decided to anticipate, from the second half to the first half, the mobilization and commitment of an infantry company that will act in Romania and that will be projected in the coming weeks,” Costa said. 

“Several other countries at the moment are either anticipating or reinforcing or deciding to reinforce their participation with these countries [bordering Ukraine] in order to have a clear manifestation of unity and deterrence regarding Russia’s actions,” he added.

Costa stated the army company will consist of 175 men when asked how many would be dispatched to support Ukraine.