The Belgian Ministry of Defense intends to transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine a batch of 240 military trucks of the Volvo Cargo, Volvo Shelter, Volvo Fassi and Volvo Manumat models. It is expected that the cars will arrive in Ukraine next week, according to the publication De Standaard.

"The trucks have been in operation since the early 1990s ('92-'93). Therefore, a major inspection and reconstruction operation was launched a few months ago. The Defense Ministry is convinced that 240 vehicles that are now being sent to the Ukrainian army are in good condition. Also included are all instructions and spare parts that were still in stock," the publication points out.

At the same time, the Belgian Defense Ministry emphasizes that nothing is transferred to the Ukrainian army that it would not request.

"Close consultations are being held on this in the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine. Ukrainians are not supplied with anything that they themselves would not ask for and what they did not need. Not everything we offer is immediately accepted. This is usually related to time. Because these are things they can't use yet at that time, or, for example, because they don't have the right staff for them. But in a few weeks the situation may look different," the representative of the Belgian army stressed.

Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder also pointed out that every Ukrainian request is checked for its feasibility in the defense department and the Belgian industry.

"I confirmed in the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine on Wednesday that our country is providing all possible support and will continue to do so," she stressed.

She noted that in addition to delivering trucks, hundreds of Belgian instructors are also being sent to train Ukrainian soldiers.

The main advantage of Volvo is its relatively simple mechanics. Thus, Ukrainian servicemen do not need any additional training in order to start work or independently provide maintenance.

Belgium has long planned to phase out the use of these trucks, new cars were ordered a few years ago, but now plans for the decommissioning of cars have changed.

"As a result, we are now in limbo. Volvo is already being decommissioned, and new cars will be delivered only from this year. This does not change the fact that we support this decision by 200 percent. The emphasis is often on the supply of weapons, but Ukrainian units are also very much waiting for these trucks. During the conflict, logistics is no less important than weapons," the Belgian Defense Ministry stressed.