Greece will send 40 of its Soviet-built BMP-1 IFVs to Ukraine after it reached a deal with Germany on Friday according to which it will receive from Berlin the same number of the more modern 40 Marder IFVs.
The agreement between Greek National Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht follows the decision of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s continued aggression.
Greece which has joined its NATO allies in supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion has already sent military equipment to Kyiv.
Until May it has provided the following equipment:
122 BMP-1s and their ammunition;
15,000 73-mm rockets;
2100 122-mm rockets;
20,000 AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles;
3,200,000 7.62-mm cartridges;
60 FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS;
17,000 155-mm artillery missiles;
1,100 RPG-18 anti-tank missiles.
Greece’s support for Ukraine has irked Russia
Greece’s support for Ukraine has caused the strong reaction of Russia which in July declared Greece an “unfriendly” country.
The Russian decree provides restrictions and even a potential complete ban for “unfriendly” countries in hiring employees for embassies, consulates, and representative government agencies from Russian locals.
In June, Russia expelled eight Greek diplomats over the latter’s “confrontational course” towards Moscow.
The move was in retaliation to the expulsion of twelve Russian diplomats from Athens.
In April, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Greece that relations between the two nations that “share the same faith” have been “reduced to almost nothing.”
Maria Zakharova, director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, warned in a statement released on social media that the “historical parallels” between Greece and Russia were in danger of becoming “a solid double line between us.”
The Russian official has previously alleged that there is an orchestrated defamation of Russia in Greece following the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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