ATHENA, Nov 5 The Russian army destroyed five Greek soldiers in Donbass BMPs immediately after they were handed over to the Ukrainian side, the Greek media write.
According to the iskra.gr portal, this happened on October 28, when Russian troops suppressed the Ukrainian offensive near the village of Berestovoye in the Kharkiv region.
«As a result, 150 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or injured, one tank and five BMP-1 <…>, four armored personnel carriers and nine pickup trucks converted into combat vehicles were destroyed,» the publication says.
It notes that the BMPs were hit by artillery and 152-millimeter Krasnopol rockets.
The article emphasizes that the vehicles received from Greece were serious reinforcements for the Armed Forces of Ukraine — since they were in excellent condition, they were immediately put forward to the front line.
Besides, writes iskra.gr, Greece handed over RM-70 multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine. They operate mainly in the Kherson region, two of them have already been destroyed.
The pronews.gr portal, for its part, notes that they did not even have time to repaint the Greek equipment.
«It hurts the heart of the Greek military when they see BMP-1s burning like torches on the Ukrainian plains, serving the Zelensky regime. One of them still bears symbols (of the Greek army. — Approx. ed.) They were sent into battle in in such a hurry that they did not even have time to paint or remove the emblem, it is so «respected» in the government and the leadership of the armed forces. Later, apparently, there was a clumsy attempt to erase it, while adding a Ukrainian trident, «the article says.< br>
The author adds that the Greek islands from which the BMP-1 was withdrawn remained uncovered. This was acknowledged by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who sent Greek weapons to Zelensky.
The retired brigadier general in charge of the IFVs on an island in the eastern Aegean told pronews.gr that the military had struggled to secure supplies of spare parts. But they instantly appeared when they decided to send the cars to Ukraine.
“We made superhuman efforts to keep them in perfect working order so they could give them to Zelensky for free. We didn’t have batteries <…> But before the BMP was taken from the troops and sent to Ukraine, two cars with batteries and replaced all the old ones,» the military said.
Greece pledged to send to Ukraine 40 East German-made armored infantry vehicles of the BMP-1 type, received in 1994. In return, Germany promised to provide an equal number of Marder infantry fighting vehicles. As of October 28, Athens has already received ten such vehicles.
This week, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos visited Kyiv, where a ceremony was held to hand over the BMP-1 to Ukrainian troops. At the same time, according to the Greek media, the United States requires allies and partners to send more and more weapons to the Kyiv regime.
Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly stated that the supply of Western weapons only prolongs the conflict in Ukraine, and the transport of weapons becomes a legitimate target for the Russian army.