The Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to deliver tanks and heavy infantry equipment to Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s pleas for help from the West.
Over a dozen T-72 tanks, BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and howitzer artillery pieces were shipped to Slovakia en route to Ukraine, broadcaster Czech Television showed.
The delivery signals a notable escalation against Russia by a NATO ally, raising the possibility that NATO could soon plunge itself into a direct military conflict with Russia despite carefully waging a proxy campaign since Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in February.
“Much more, several times more, can be done if we join forces with other allies,” said Czech Deputy Defense Minister Tomáš Kopečný.
