Greece sending military aid to Ukraine, says prime minister

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – Greece will send military aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Sunday.

Greece will respond to Ukraine’s request and in consultation with its allies in NATO and the EU show its practical solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the premier’s office said in a statement.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Mitsotakis that was attended by Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and military chief Konstantinos Floros.

Two C-130 planes with defense equipment will depart for Poland within the day, the statement said, without specifying details of the equipment being sent.

Greece joins Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic on a growing list of countries that have pledged military assistance for Kyiv since the start of Russia’s military intervention on Feb. 24.

Notis Mitarakis, the minister for migration and asylum, also said on Saturday that Greece is willing to take in refugees from Ukraine.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, nearly 120,000 people have fled from Ukraine to neighboring countries since Russia launched a military operation against its western neighbor on Feb. 24.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intervention on Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy its neighbor, but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of trying to install a puppet government, vowing that Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.​​​​​​​