Belgium questions Ukraine about weapons to attack Russian territory

Brussels said it would ask Kiev to clarify information that Belgian-made weapons were used by armed groups to attack Russia's Belgorod province.

The office of Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said on June 4 that she would contact the Ukrainian government as soon as possible to receive an explanation. Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib also made a similar move.

"The documentation accompanying the weapons delivered to Kiev states that they are intended for the Ukrainian armed forces to defend their territory and their people," Belgian media quoted a government source as saying. "They are not intended for use by specific groups with internal considerations linked to Russia."

The statement was made by US officials after the Russian Defense Ministry released images showing pro-Ukrainian armed groups using American and Polish armored vehicles, as well as Belgian and Czech assault rifles, to launch attacks on Russian territory.

Russia says the Ukrainian-backed Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and Free Russian Corps (FRL) militias twice crossed into Russian territory in March and May. Moscow claims the groups suffered heavy losses and were pushed back across the border.

Armored vehicles believed to be US-made were damaged during an attack in Belgorod province, Russia in May. Photo: Russian Defense Ministry — Armored vehicles believed to be US-made were damaged during an attack in Belgorod province, Russia in May. Photo: *Russian Defense Ministry*

The Washington Post on June 3 cited intelligence information saying that during the incursion into Belgorod province late last month, RVC and FRL gunmen used at least four tactical vehicles that the West transferred to Ukraine, including MRAP mine-resistant armored vehicles, Czech and Belgian-made rifles, and at least one AT-4 anti-tank gun commonly used by the US and Western militaries.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the May raid ended with Russian forces killing “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists” and destroying “four armored fighting vehicles and five pickup trucks.” According to Russian officials, the attack left one civilian dead and 12 wounded.

On June 4, two groups attempted another cross-border raid on Belgorod, the governor of the region said. The Russian Defense Ministry later announced that the gunmen had been pushed back into Ukrainian territory.

The US has repeatedly stressed that it does not approve of weapons it supplies being used for military operations outside Ukraine’s borders. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said last month that Berlin would not allow Kiev to use German-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory.

Ukrainian intelligence denied allegations of transferring Western weapons to the RVC and FRL, saying the weapons the two groups obtained were spoils of war from clashes with the Russian regular army.

Moscow has long warned that it considers Ukraine's use of Western-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory a "red line." Russia has also argued that the crisis in Ukraine is essentially a "proxy war" waged by NATO against the country.