EU set to dispatch armored vehicles to Ukraine

The European Union reportedly plans to provide armored vehicles to Ukraine with the declared aim of monitoring a ceasefire deal recently signed between the Kiev government and pro-Russia forces in Minsk, Belarus.

The 28-member bloc will send armored vehicles and satellite imagery to monitor the ceasefire in Ukraine, the deputy secretary general for the European External Action Service (EEAS), Maciej Popowski, said after a meeting between EU defense ministers in the Latvian capital city of Riga on Thursday.

The top EU official, however, stopped short of confirming possible troop deployment to a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission, adding that “there needs to be more clarity” on the proposal by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Meanwhile, France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would be sending some 400 ceasefire observers to Ukraine.

The EU and NATO have urged pro-Russia forces in Ukraine to allow OSCE observes to monitor the ceasefire deal.