Ukraine will receive 3,000 assault rifles and 200 anti-tank weapons from Belgium, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote in a tweet on Sunday, February 27, following the official announcement made on Friday, February 25, from Estonia by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
In a first move, Belgium announced it was offering 2,000 « machine guns », an inappropriate designation as the country does not have that many machine guns (be it FN MAG, FN Minimi or Browning M2 HMGs) to offer. But as the army has been decommissioning its FNC assault rifles in favor of the FN SCAR, it is not yet clear whether it will be 3,000 or 5,000 (the last figure mentioned) FNCs that will be donated to Ukraine, instead of destroying them. An undisclosed amount of 5.56mm rounds will also be donated, as this caliber is not in use in the Ukrainian army, which would otherwise render the FNCs unusable.
On top of these weapons, Belgium is also donating 200 anti-tank weapons. In spite of the fact that no detail is given, we reasonably assume that they can only be M72 LAWs, as they are the only anti-tank weapon Belgium can donate. A major advantage presented by the LAW is that it is very easy to use, almost like the German Panzerfaust of World War 2.