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Europe
Europe
30 April 2022 10:00 Ukraine has been calling for the delivery of heavy weapons for weeks. Kyiv needs anti-missile systems, anti-aircraft systems, armoured vehicles, tanks, and other heavy equipment. NATO has been ready to support Ukraine in the war against Russia for years, including help for Kyiv to shift from Soviet-era weapons to modern Western arms and systems, Secretary-General Stoltenberg said on 28 April. Most of the heavy weapons NATO countries have sent to Ukraine are Soviet-built arms still in the inventories of east European NATO member states. The EU agreed to support the Ukrainian resistance through the European 'Peace Facility' with a set of measures ranging from personal protection equipment, first aid kits, fuel and military equipment to defensive platforms designed to deliver lethal force. According to EU officials, the instrument, currently having firepower of €1.5 billion, could and should provide much more assistance if member states would be more willing to do so. Albania has not sent any aid to Ukraine. Aid has been provided by members of the public and NGOs and drives for food and clothing organised by the Ukrainian embassy. They have offered to take Ukrainian refugees, and there are around 400 in the country at the moment. All political parties are pro-Ukraine, and there is a strong anti-Russian sentiment in the country. Albania has pledged to assist with any NATO-led missions assisting Ukraine, and it has enacted EU sanctions against Russia. President Zelenskyy will address the Albanian parliament next week. Vienna was providing €17.5 million in aid for the Red Cross and other NGOs. There were questions about whether Austria could support Ukraine. Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited Ukraine on 8 April, followed by a visit to the Kremlin on 11 April. Both the Austrian government and the FPÖ have been sceptical of whether Ukraine’s accession to the EU should be fast-tracked. Foreign minister Schallenberg is calling for an alternative approach. “Holding out the prospect of EU accession to Ukraine and at the same time to Georgia and Moldova only raises false hopes that simply cannot be fulfilled,” said Vilimsky, leader of the FPÖ delegation in the European Parliament. The Austrian government is contributing €10 million to the World Bank’s Ukraine assistance programme. A possible appearance of President Zelenskyy had become problematic, the right FPÖ is blocking him from addressing the Austrian legislative. Initially, the Social Democrats (SPÖ) also opposed Zelenskyy addressing the Parliament. As a neutral country, the republic has sent 10,000 helmets and body armour and 100,000 litres of fuel for civilian use. Belgium has allocated €13.09 million to humanitarian programmes in Ukraine and €2.1 million to support those countries neighbouring Ukraine that have accepted refugees. The political mainstream has condemned Russia. The left Belgian Workers Party blames the US & NATO for provoking Moscow. The party voted against sanctions and condemnations. It accounts for 12% of Belgian MPs and is currently polling at around 16% (Flanders 8.5%, Wallonia 19%). The coalition government is vocal in its support for Ukraine. Incumbent Prime Minister De Croo said that the country had provided €76.9 million in support to the Ukrainian army. Donations have included 5000 assault rifles, 200 anti-tank weapons, 3800 tonnes of fuel and other protective equipment. As of 27 March, the Bulgarian Red Cross had sent some 220 tonnes of Bulgarian donations: clothes, blankets, bedding, shoes, medicines and hygiene materials. An additional 13,000 food packages have been sent. There is a strong pro-Russian public sentiment among the Bulgarian public. Sixty-seven per cent of Bulgarians are in favour of neutrality in the conflict, while only 16% believe that Bulgaria should actively support Ukraine and provide weapons. Bulgaria does not officially provide military assistance to Ukraine due to the intervention of the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party, which is part of the quadruple ruling coalition. Politically, there is an overwhelming majority in the Bulgarian parliament that supports sending military aid to Ukraine, including three of the four parties in the ruling coalition and two of the three opposition parties. The right Vazrazhdane party is openly pro-Russian. Its leader, Kostadinov, has been banned from entering Ukraine for 10 years. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov visited Kyiv on 28 April. The delegation included representatives of all parties in the ruling coalition, except for those from the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party. The official military aid figures from Sofia – 2,000 helmets and 2,000 items of body armour for Ukrainian civilians – belie the vast quantities of Bulgarian weapons flowing into Ukraine. Unofficially, Bulgaria is one of the largest weapons suppliers to Ukraine. The country’s sizeable arms industry produces weapons and ammunition according to Soviet standards, which are used by the Ukrainian army. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Bulgaria has signed new contracts worth over €1 billion, with the volume of arms exported from Bulgaria increasing three to four times. The weapons are exported primarily to Poland and then immediately imported to Ukraine. Croatian President Milanović (S&D) had made pro-Russian comments on multiple occasions. He caused fear and confusion in Finland & Sweden when he made comments that threatened to scupper their NATO membership bid. The Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and government (EPP) have been supportive of Ukraine against Russia, as has the opposition in parliament. The president’s remarks have become problematic enough for Plenković that he announced he would break off all contact with him. Croatia sent €16.5 million of weapons at the start of March and around €12 million in humanitarian aid with more specific information on the nature of Croatia’s help to Ukraine hard to come by. On 19 April, Plenkovic tweeted that more support would be forthcoming. Nicosia has contributed 215 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, civil protection equipment, medical and pharmaceutical supplies and other essentials. The estimated value is €2m. The Cypriot MFA has contributed over €150,000 to support Ukrainian refugees. The country historically awash with Russian money. The biggest noise coming out of the country regarding Russia’s war on Ukraine was uproar across the Cypriot political spectrum that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy did not draw a direct comparison between his country’s plight and the Turkish invasion and partition of the island of Cyprus. The main opposition party, the left AKEL, is openly pro-Russian and accuses the government of being pro-NATO as a form of insult. The governing Democratic Rally (EPP) is onboard with the common European approach to Ukraine. At the start of April, the US requested that Cyprus send old military equipment it bought from Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s to Ukraine with promises to backfill with more modern equipment. This request is being considered, but no decisions have yet been made. Cyprus has not provided any military support, claiming that to do so would leave the country exposed to an attack by Turkey. Czechia claims to be among the countries giving the most aid to Ukraine. Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office was saying that the Czech share in total help provided stands at 11%. There is a consensus on Ukraine in Czechia’s five-party coalition government. The government has sent 127 tonnes of food while civil society has raised over €140 million in humanitarian aid. The opposition ANO has criticised them for focusing too much on Ukraine and neglecting the Czech people. The right SPD (ID) and the Czech Communist Party have tried the same line of attack. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Kyiv, going there with the Polish and Slovenian Prime Ministers while the city was still under direct daily attack. The Czech Defence Ministry avoids specific details on its military support to Ukraine. Currently €41 million of Soviet-era tanks, guided missiles and drones have been provided. Denmark has spent over €67m humanitarian aid, covering a wide range of support, from donations to Danish and international organisations, medical supplies, and support for refugees. After years of parties from all parts of the spectrum working to dissuade refugee and migrant flows from the Middle East, the reversal in the country has been a welcoming stance to refugees from Ukraine. The stances taken by Denmark seem to enjoy cross-party support, with the political mainstream pulling together and even voting unanimously on some rules, such as guaranteeing English and Ukrainian language education for refugee children. The Danish political scene is now preparing for a referendum on 1 June on potentially getting rid of Denmark’s EU opt-out on defence cooperation. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited Kyiv together with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, where she announced a further increase in spending on military support for Ukraine, taking the total to €134m. This spending includes M113 armoured personnel carriers, anti-tank mines, and mortar shells. In the EU, Estonia has given the 6th most significant amount of support by value, and globally it comes ahead of much larger countries such as Spain, Canada, and Japan. In the Russian-speaking minority, which has traditionally held very positive views of Russia, 1one in four are pro-Putin and trust Russian news sources. Estonia has been an especially vocal advocate for Finland and Sweden to accede to NATO. President of Estonia Karis accompanied the Presidents of Poland and Latvia in April to the Ukrainian capital. Estonia’s support for Ukraine enjoys broad cross-party support. In cooperation with Germany, Estonia donated to Ukraine a field hospital and medical supplies worth almost €10 million. Almost all of Estonia’s aid to Ukraine has been military in nature. It has given aid to a value of €230 million, including Javelin antitank missiles, 122-mm howitzers, antitank mines, small arms, ammunition, vehicles, fuel, communications equipment, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and food parcels. Finland has provided 17 shipments on the humanitarian front, including massive emergency accommodations for up to 5,000 people, shower tents, medical supplies, and 13 ambulances. Given Finland’s 1,400 kilometres stretch of land bordering Russia, much public debate has focused on whether the country should apply to join NATO. Support for NATO membership jumped from 20% to 50% amongst the population, with the idea currently having majority support in parliament. All opposition parties but the far-right single MP party “Power belongs to people” are in favour. The social democrats in government continue to dither on their stance on NATO but are expected to come to a position on 14 May, which some expect to result in application end of May, likely in concert with Sweden. The Ukrainian government has received a total of €15 million in new financial support as well as €1.5 in donations from large Finnish cities. Following the invasion, Helsinki sent 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 bullets, 1,500 light anti-tank weapons, 2,000 bulletproof vests, 2,000 helmets and some 100 stretchers and two first-aid stations. Two more shipments followed, the latest having been on 19 April. The estimated value of the shipments has been €30 million in total. France sent 55 tons of material to Ukraine in March, including medical equipment (medicines and oxygen generators), milk for children, IT equipment (smartphones, computers, routers as well as 60km of fibre optics), and 31 generators to reinforce the country’s electrical security. A package of €300m was released to help prop up the Ukrainian economy. France is sending investigators and gendarmes to help collect evidence of Russian war crimes in the country. The right of French politics is pro-Russian - Le Pen tried to play it down during the second round of the presidential election. She was on the record agreeing with most European sanctions and favouring France hosting refugees from Ukraine. In third place was the left Mélenchon, who has traditionally been non-aligned and sceptical of both the EU and NATO. The newly re-elected President Macron positioned himself as a defender of Europe and a supporter of Ukraine. A French cross-party delegation went to Ukraine in early April. Military support from France has consisted of €100m of military equipment delivered to Ukraine, including defensive and optronic equipment, weapons and ammunition, weapons systems, fuel, and artillery guns. The humanitarian aid by the German government has amounted to a total of €370 million for Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. Another fast-tracked development aid programme will see €122 million disbursed. Kyiv prevented an attempted visit by President Steinmeier. A cross-party delegation of leading MPs from the governing parties has visited Ukraine. Politically, the newish German government struggles with the pacifist wing of Scholz’s social democrats, personified by the party’s parliament whip Mützenich. The largest opposition party CDU's support is needed to pass Scholz’s extraordinary €100 billion modernisation fund for the army. The far-right AfD and the far-left Die Linke have condemned arms deliveries to Ukraine, as they historically are closer to Russia than the West. On 29 April, a letter signed by public personalities called upon Scholz to limit arms deliveries to Ukraine, especially heavy ones, to avoid a third world war. The finance ministry has been rather tight-lipped about Germany’s share of the €24 billion the G7 states have pledged for Ukraine. Berlin provided a €150 million loan on 14 February, with another €50 million a year ringfenced for a green recovery. At the beginning of April, Defence Minister Lambrecht stated that the German government had delivered the second-most arms if measured by weight, third-most if going by value, which she put at €80 billion. On 21 April, the government announced its intention to undergo a ring-swap, giving modern tanks to Slovenia in exchange for Soviet-era tanks going to Ukraine. It supplied the Ukrainians with 100,000 hand grenades, 2000 mines and 5,300 explosive charges, as well as 16 million rounds of ammunition for handheld arms. Media reports of 21 April put the total at 2500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 anti-tank guns with 3000 rounds of ammunition, 100 machine guns and 15 bunker busters. Arms deliveries to Ukraine referred to as Zeitenwende saw 1,000 anti-tank weapons, 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, some 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles, and ammunition. The latest announcement was that “Gepard” tanks will be provided to Ukraine, although munition for the tanks, which the German army hasn’t used in a decade, has yet to be procured from Brazil. Scholz has announced his intention to supply grenade launchers with a range of up to six kilometres and training for Ukrainian soldiers in the use of mortars with a range of 40 kilometres. Although relations between Athens and Moscow have reached an all-time low due to Greece’s strong stance against Russia, Athens has blocked sanctions aiming to ban Russian owned ships or those with Russian interests from EU ports. The Greek government has committed to the reconstruction of Mariupol’s maternity hospital. It has also sent 20,000 pairs of medical latex gloves, 300,000 pieces of medical protective masks (protection class not less than FFP2), 30,000 respirators, 8,000 protective suits, 1,000 hand sanitizers, and 1,000 pairs of protective glasses. The government also provided Moldova and Slovakia with equipment to help deal with migration waves. In polls, most Greek citizens opposed the decision to send military aid to Ukraine. A speech by President Zelenskyy to the Greek parliament on 7 April was overshadowed by the inclusion of a video message from the far-right militia group, the Azov Battalion, that was addressed to lawmakers. The main opposition Syriza opposed dispatching military equipment and reacted saying the Greek Premier did not consult with any other party in advance. The communist party has been neutral blaming both the US and Russia for the war in Ukraine. The populist pro-Russian “Greek Solution” party has asked to send humanitarian aid only to Greeks living in Ukraine. Both parties have negligible power in the Greek parliament. Since the very beginning, the Greek government has condemned the Russian aggression and PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis immediately sent military aid. Athens sent to Ukraine 40 tonnes of defence material including seized Kalashnikov rifles and anti-tank and specific RPG-18 type weapons.
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