Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Monday that his government is asking Ukraine if Belgian rifles were used by pro-Kyiv fighters in a recent attack on Russia’s Belgorod region.
De Croo’s comments came after US officials told The Washington Post that groups of Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine were armed with US-made armored vehicles and rifles that were made in Belgium and the Czech Republic during a raid on Belgorod.
“Our defense ministry and its intelligence agencies have started an investigation and are asking for information to determine what has happened exactly,” De Croo said, according to Al Jazeera.
“European weapons are delivered to Ukraine under the condition that they are used on Ukrainian territory with the purpose of defending that territory. And we have strict controls in place to see that this is the case,” he added.
The two groups who took credit for the Belgorod attack — the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps — have admitted to using NATO weapons.
“The basic military equipment like the rifles and machineguns, they obviously are part of the regular fighters in Ukraine because both of those groups are part of the international legion, which is a part of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Ilya Ponomarev, a political representative for the Freedom of Russia Legion, told Al Jazeera last month.
Denis Nikitin, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of open neo-Nazis, told Financial Times that his fighters were armed with American armored vehicles, including MRAPs and Humvees, in the cross-border raid that was launched on May 22. The Russian volunteer groups have claimed several more attacks in Belgorod since May 22 and said Sunday that they captured Russian soldiers.
Oh, look. Like every other European with the exception of Orban, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo looks cute and dumb at the same time. (Sarcasm alert)
Given just how plentiful Belgium FN FAL parts sets are for those who want to make one for yourself without pesky government intervention, one can easily imagine they are readily available completely assembled ready to go for anyone in that area of the world.
Add into the mix all the new stuff with serial numbers on them too and it ought to be just as easy to trace the guns as the VINs on the vehicles made those easy to trace back to the USA.
The alliance begins to unravel.
“Private, is that a Belgian rifle you are holding?”
“Yes, sir, it does appear to be.”
“And why do I now find out, when we’re almost at the Russian border!? Didn’t you read the instructions?: ‘No Belgian guns! Not even Belgian bullets!’ Crap, we are going to be in Serious Hot Water if the brass find out about this…and we don’t have time now to drive back and get another rifle or we’ll miss the big rendezvous and shoot-em-up!”
“Sorry, boss.”
“You better be! You’ll be peeling potatoes for a week after this. I mean, the Belgians take this stuff Very Seriously. So you better make me glad you’re on this field trip.”
“How can I do that, sir?”
“Well, try to kill something. A person, or a dog. Or a cow. A cow would be good. We could take it home and eat it. So try to get a cow. The Belgians won’t mind so much if we tell them we were just hunting for meat.”
“What if I kill a person?”
“Not so good. We don’t eat them. At least, not yet.”
“”European weapons are delivered to Ukraine under the condition that they are used on Ukrainian territory with the purpose of defending that territory””
what is the point of arming your pals to fight their enemy if there are stipulations involved
So, Ukrainians can die without their “pals” getting their hair messed.