Lotsakit From Luxembourg: The Duchy’s Arms Supplies To Ukraine

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

How to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with military aid when your country barely possesses a military in the first place? That's a question the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg must have asked itself in late February shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. But while Belgium is still struggling for an answer to this question even in November 2022, the Lëtzebuerger Arméi reacted quickly, and immediately donated seven Jeep Wranglers, 102 NLAW anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and 15 military tents to Ukraine on the 28th of February 2022. [1]

Further materiel support already delivered to Ukraine includes six Primoco One 150 reconnaissance drones, 28 HMMWV IMVs, 20 12.7mm M2 HMGs 5000 bulletproof vests, 5000 helmets, 470 night vision goggles and 22.400 gas masks. Berlin also contributed at least €2 billion to Ukraine's security capacity building fund with which the Ukrainian government can purchase armament from other countries, including a further 100 PzH 2000s and 18 RCH-155 SPGs from German arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. [1] [2]

Though these figures might seem anything but impressive compared to the copious amounts of military equipment provided to Ukraine by countries such as Czechia and Germany, Luxembourg's donations made up a significant portion of its own stocks, a fact that did not elude President Zelensky, who in June 2022 stated that the ''greatness and the nobility of the state [Luxembourg] are immediately felt''. [2] At that time, Luxembourg had already donated some 15% of its defence budget (or some €75 million), a number that has risen significantly since. [2]

In November 2022, Luxembourg's defence minister announced the donation of 28 HMMWV IMVs and 20 12.7mm M2 HMGs, further stating that ''Luxembourg will support Ukraine for as long as it takes''. [3] Luxembourg has also purchased large quantities of Soviet-era ammunition, and even six reconnaissance UAVs, on behalf of Ukraine. [4] Just what the country's future military aid will consist of precisely is still a mystery. The Lëtzebuerger Arméi's 42 HMMWVs and 48 Dingo MRAPs are scheduled for replacement by 80 Eagle V IMVs by 2028, and it might be that Luxembourg's reserve stocks of HMMWVs have been exhausted after the supply of 28 examples in November 2022.

Rather than providing further military aid from its own stocks, Luxembourg could contribute to Ukraine's security capacity building fund with which the Ukrainian government can purchase armament from other countries, or it can continue to directly purchase military equipment from defence companies in Belgium on Ukraine's behalf. The Lëtzebuerger Arméi is also set to play a role in the European Union's Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM), which will train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. [5] Clearly, providing a significant contribution to Ukraine's cause is not contingent on having a large country or military.

Luxembourg's sole A400M military transport aircraft has been used to transport mlitary equipment to Poland, from where it is delivered to Ukraine.

The following list attempts to keep track of military equipment delivered or pledged to Ukraine by Luxembourg during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The entries below are sorted by armament category (with a flag denoting the country of origin). Due to the confidential nature of some arms deliveries they can serve only as a lower bound to the total volume of equipment delivered. This list will be updated as further military support is declared.

(Click on the vehicle or equipment type to get a picture of them)

Reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

6 Primoco One 150s [August 2022] (Purchased directly from the manufacturer)

Anti-Tank Guided Missiles

102 NLAWs [March 2022]

Infantry Mobility Vehicles

28 HMMWVs [November 2022]

Vehicles

7 Jeep Wranglers [March 2022]
4 Pickup Trucks [August 2022] (Delivered along with four trailers)

Small Arms

20 12.7mm M2 Browning Heavy Machine Guns [November 2022] (For the HMMWVs)

Ammunition

600 122mm Rockets For The BM-21 Grad [Between September and October 2022] (Bought from a third country and delivered to Ukraine)
12.500 Rounds Of RPG-7 Ammunition [April 2022] (Bought from a third country and delivered to Ukraine)
20.000 Rounds Of 12.7mm Ammunition [March 2022]

Military Clothing

5000 Bulletproof Vests [May 2022] (Purchased off the international market)
5000 Helmets [May 2022] (Purchased off the international market)
22.400 Avon Protection C50 Gas Masks [Between April and June 2022] (Delivered along with 44.800 filters) (Purchased directly from the manufacturer)

Miscellaneous Equipment

470 Night Vision Goggles [August 2022]
50 Satcube Ku Terminals With iDirect iQ 200 Modems And SATCOM subscription [Between July and October 2022] (Purchased directly from the manufacturer)
15 Military Tents [March 2022]
358 Arctic Sleeping Bags [September 2022]
18 Generators [November 2022]
6 Portable Army Heaters [September 2022]
10 Light-Pole Sets [November 2022]
800 Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) [September 2022]
30 Artec 3D Scanners [November 2022] (To be used to investigate Russian war crimes)