The Netherlands has provided Ukraine with amphibious APCs: what they look like and what they are capable of. Photo

The Netherlands has decided to provide Ukraine with 28 amphibious armored personnel carriers. The vehicles in question are BvS-10 Viking. Although Ukrainians have already seen these APCs on the battlefield, no official announcement of their delivery to Ukraine has been made until now.

The decision to provide BvS-10 Vikings now was announced by Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans. He noted that "Ukraine desperately needs help in the fight against the Russian aggressor."

"The Netherlands is already handing over 28 Viking vehicles. The Dutch Marine Corps has previously trained Ukrainian military to operate these vehicles," Ruben Brekelmans said.

Separately, the Dutch Minister of Defense noted that "Ukraine has the right to self-defense" and, in this context, "has the right to strike deep into Russia."

"They can hit military targets in Russia if it is necessary for self-defense. The Netherlands has not set any restrictions in terms of miles or kilometers that Ukraine can use our weapons. The only condition is that it must be in self-defense. And this is what is key for the Netherlands," he emphasized.

The BvS-10 (abbreviation for Bandvagn Skyddad, "protected tracked vehicle") is a Swedish-British fully-amphibious armoured all-terrain vehicle consisting of two tracked vehicle units manufactured by BAE Systems Haglunds. The Armed Forces of Ukraine began using Bandvagn and BvS-10 in April 2023, although no official reports of these vehicles being delivered to Ukraine have been made.

It is possible that the delivery of these amphibious vehicles was hidden in the "other miscellaneous ammunition, vehicles and equipment" line of the military aid list.

The BvS-10 Viking was created to replace its predecessor, the Bv-206S. This amphibious vehicle can perform a wide variety of tasks. For this purpose, several variants of modular armor have been created, and it is possible to mount various weapons systems and equip the vehicle with weapons of mass destruction protection.

Initially, the BvS-10 Viking was designed specifically for the British Marines in three modifications. In addition to being a troop transport vehicle, it is also a mobile command post (with an advanced digital platform) and even a mobile repair and restoration plant for any equipment (the rear cabin contains a crane, a fully equipped portable workshop, an air compressor, and a 9-ton winch).

All three modifications are fully equipped for navigation, they are able to sail in various currents when fully loaded with passengers and cargo.

The armored personnel carrier is equipped with a 5.9-liter Cummins engine. A new steering system has been developed for the vehicle, which provides a significant increase in speed and improved comfort on and off-road.

The BvS-10 Viking was first seen in combat in Afghanistan in 2006.

Experts believe that the ability of these vehicles to move at high speed over difficult terrain is invaluable. Another advantage of the BvS-10 Viking is that they are too light to activate most anti-tank mines.

As reported, Ukraine has handed over to the United States a list of targets in Russia that it wants to hit with American ATACMS missiles. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that he hoped that the arguments of the Ukrainian side had been heard.

In total, there are at least 250 military and paramilitary targets in Russia that can be hit by ATACMS missiles. However, the United States limits the use of these missiles to strike targets in Russia, allowing only HIMARS.

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