Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Netherlands, four NATO countries, have indicated that they will send reinforcements to help Ukraine fight Russia.
On Saturday, February 26, the Czech Republic pledged to transfer a “shipment of weaponry to Ukraine” worth more than $8.5 million to a “location of Ukrainians’ choice.”
“A shipment of weaponry to Ukraine has been approved by the administration. “We are delivering CZK 188 million worth of machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, and pistols, as well as their ammo,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala tweeted.
“We’re doing everything we can to assist Ukraine,” Fiala continued.
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 thus a war against the freedom of self-determination and democracy.””
The Portuguese prime minister, flanked by Defense Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho, left, and Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff Admiral António da Silva Ribeiro, announced at a televised news conference:
“All nations were unanimous in their recognition of the necessity to expand NATO’s presence on Ukraine’s frontiers and in all alliance countries bordering the Ukraine region.””
“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,” Costa added.
When asked for a specific number of soldiers that would be sent to support Ukraine, Costa said the infantry company would include 175 troopers.
The Netherlands also on Saturday said it would be providing Ukraine with more weapons.
“The Netherlands will supply Ukraine 200 anti-aircraft Stinger missiles. Other defence material already on its way,” the prime minister’s foreign affairs and defense adviser, Geoffrey van Leeuwen, tweeted.
Germany, who is very dependent on Russia for its energy and gas, also announced it will deliver anti-tank weapons and missiles to Ukraine, a major policy shift after resisting Kyiv’s previous calls for defensive weaponry.
“The Russian attack marks a change in times. It is our duty to support Ukraine as much as we can defending themselves against Putin’s invasion army. Therefore we will deliver 1,000 antitank weapons and 500 stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted Saturday after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda.