On 28 February 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, François Bausch, announced military assistance and support measures for Ukraine. He informed the parliamentary Defence committee of this decision this morning.
Following various requests from Ukraine and in view of the developments in Ukraine, the Minister of Defence decided to provide lethal and non-lethal equipment as well as logistical support and a financial contribution, but also to increase the military forces in Lithuania within the framework of the reinforced NATO forward presence.
The army will supply 100 NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon) to the Ukrainian army.
In addition, the army will provide Ukraine with Jeep Wrangler 4x4 vehicles, as well as 15 military tents.
As a member of the Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) programme and together with the other member countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and the Czech Republic), Luxembourg is currently providing NATO with air-to-air refuelling capabilities for an operation aimed at protecting Allied airspace for the duration of ongoing operations. In addition, the Directorate of Defence offers allied countries the capacity to transport military or humanitarian material via its A400M aircraft or its service contract with the company Cargolux.
Since 2016, NATO has established four multinational battle groups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, based on the principle of rotation within the framework of Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). The Luxembourg army is currently present in Lithuania with four soldiers providing transport capability within the Battle Group. Two additional troops were deployed to Lithuania on Monday morning to reinforce the Luxembourg presence, bringing the number of Luxembourg troops in Lithuania to six.
In addition to the financial contribution that Luxembourg is already providing to Ukraine through a NATO fund, Luxembourg will contribute to the financial assistance measures of the European Peace Facility (EPF), aimed at building resilience to defend the civilian population and defend the sovereignty of Ukraine. The EU contribution is expected to be €500 million, of which €450 million will be used for the purchase of lethal equipment and €50 million for the purchase of non-lethal equipment.
"It is our duty to help and support Ukraine and its citizens, who are in a war situation", said François Bausch. "In view of the urgency and the deterioration of the situation on the ground, the government did not hesitate to show solidarity and to make these means available to support the Ukrainian army in the fight against the Russian invader."
Press release by the Directorate of Defence