Portugal will transfer to Ukraine five emergency evacuation and medical tracked armored vehicles.

This was reported by the Ministry of National Defense of Portugal.

The transfer of additional armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine was announced by the country’s Minister of Defense Helena Carreiras at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format, which was held on Friday in Germany.

“Portugal will send five emergency evacuation and medical tracked armored vehicles as support to Ukraine – three М113-type of and two M577-type,” said in the statement.

In one of the previous defense assistance packages, Ukraine received 14 M113 tracked armored personnel carriers and additional 120mm ammunition from Portugal.

This was Portugal’s second official transfer of M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. The first batch of fourteen tracked armored vehicles was delivered to the Armed Forces in July 2022.

The M113 armored personnel carrier is the main tracked armored personnel carrier, which was long in service with mechanized troops of the United States Army and many armies of other countries of the world. In the Portuguese army, this vehicle has served for more than 30 years.

The country received this weapon after 1989, when the United States reduced its presence in the European Union. It is known that the country had 104 M113A2 armored personnel carriers from the Netherlands and 50 M113A1 from Germany.

М577 armored personnel carriers are based on M113, but have a modified hull shape with a larger internal capacity.

М577 armored vehicles are used, in particular, as mobile command posts. Such vehicles Ukraine has received from Lithuania.

Also at the end of March, Portugal transferred three Leopard 2A6 to Ukraine.

“Three Leopard 2A6 tanks handed over by Portugal are already in Ukraine. They are delivered by agreement with our partners. Portugal continues supporting Ukraine’s fight against the illegal invasion by Russia,” the Portugal’s defense ministry said.