Date: 2025-08-20 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028949
PORTUGAL
MAJOR SUPPORTER OF UKRAINE
The Military Show: Portugal’s $250M Arsenal Just OBLITERATED $4 BILLION of Russia’s Air Defenses
MAJOR SUPPORTER OF UKRAINE
The Military Show: Portugal’s $250M Arsenal Just OBLITERATED $4 BILLION of Russia’s Air Defenses
Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BISSnsvHaE
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
Transcript
- 0:00
- Portugal may not be Ukraine’s most prominent ally, but it might just be the most cost-effective one.
- It sent a $250 million arsenal to Ukraine, including helicopters, drones, and other military
- support. That arsenal has since obliterated a whopping $4 billion worth of Russian air defenses.
- In other words, for every dollar Portugal has provided, Russia has suffered $16 in damage.
- And those are the kinds of numbers that are sure to send Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, into a
- fit of frustration and rage, especially now, with his country’s economy crumbling down around him.
- As a member of the European Union, Portugal has supported Ukraine in
- various ways since the war began. In the first two years of the war, for example,
- it sent several Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks to Kyiv, along with M113 armored personnel carriers
- and medical variants of the same vehicles. It also provided large amounts of artillery and
- 1:03
- light ammunition, plus howitzers, boats, drones, communications equipment, electrical generators,
- 1:09
- medical supplies, and clothing. However, Portugal seriously upped
- 1:14
- the aid ante last year, on May 28, 2024. On that day, Portugal and Ukraine signed
- 1:21
- a bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement, detailing the numerous ways in which Portugal
- 1:27
- planned to support Ukraine in both resisting Russian aggression and
- 1:31
- rebuilding itself once the war was over. The agreement was built on 10 core points,
- 1:36
- as detailed by Daria Chernyavska in his recent in-depth report on Portugal’s aid to Ukraine.
- 1:43
- The report was published by the Stanislav Dnistrianskyi Centre for Law and Politics,
- 1:48
- an analytical and advocacy platform that aims to provide solutions and long-term
- 1:53
- strategies to help Ukraine overcome the challenges imposed by Russian aggression.
- 1:58
- The 10 points are: Providing Ukraine
- 2:02
- with weapons and military equipment. Cooperation in the defense-industrial complex.
- 2:10
- Using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Education and training of Ukrainian military.
- 2:19
- Sanctions against Russia and its supporters. Non-military security and civil protection.
- 2:27
- Demining of Ukrainian territories. Critical infrastructure protection.
- 2:35
- Humanitarian support and support for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
- 2:41
- Holding Russia accountable. As the list shows, this is a broad agreement.
- 2:47
- It’s not merely a question of Portugal committing to send some weapons or other aid to Ukraine,
- 2:52
- but to help the country in a number of key areas, from military equipment to training,
- 2:58
- sanctions, security, and humanitarian aid. And in the year since that agreement was signed,
- 3:03
- Portugal has gone above and beyond the call of duty, delivering on its promises and even
- 3:09
- exceeding expectations in numerous ways. For example, when the agreement was signed,
- 3:14
- Portugal pledged an impressive €126 million, or around $144 million, for the purchase of weapons
- 3:22
- and other military equipment for Ukraine in 2024. It went on to surpass that target by a huge
- 3:29
- margin, contributing an extraordinary €226 million, which is more than $250 million.
- 3:37
- An initial €100 million came early in 2024, when Portugal committed to a Czech-led
- 3:43
- initiative to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to replenish
- 3:48
- and expand its all-important stocks of munitions. Czech President Petr Pavel led the charge, seeking
- 3:54
- out viable artillery shell supplies outside of Europe that could be purchased and delivered to
- 3:59
- Ukraine, with a focus on 155mm ammunition. Portugal was eager to assist with the
- 4:06
- necessary funding. Its Defense Ministry released a statement at the time, saying:
- 4:11
- “Given Portugal’s commitment to support the defense of sovereignty and the territorial
- 4:16
- integrity of Ukraine, in accordance with internationally recognized borders,
- 4:20
- and in compliance with the United Nations Charter and international law, the Council
- 4:25
- of Ministers approved today a resolution authorizing expenditure for this purpose,
- 4:30
- up to a maximum amount of 100 million euros.” This, already, was a generous and valuable
- 4:37
- commitment from Portugal, as artillery shells are absolutely vital for the defense of Ukraine,
- 4:42
- and the country was struggling with a shell shortage at the time, opening opportunities
- 4:47
- for Russia to press its advantage and launch intense assaults along the front lines.
- 4:52
- Then Portugal went further. It allocated €52 million to the Drone Coalition,
- 4:58
- an initiative focused on producing various types of drones in Portugal
- 5:03
- to send to Ukrainian Armed Forces, on-demand. By the end of 2024, Portugal had also delivered
- 5:10
- more than a dozen helicopters to Ukraine, including six Ka-32
- 5:14
- units and eight SA-330 Puma helicopters. The Ka-32s are multipurpose helicopters
- 5:21
- widely used in firefighting, search and rescue, medical evacuation, cargo transport, and more.
- 5:27
- The Pumas, meanwhile, are French-made utility helicopters, used by the likes of the French
- 5:33
- Army and British Royal Air Force. Equipped with advanced fire control systems, Pumas can
- 5:38
- launch Exocet anti-ship missiles. They also come with ORB-31 X-band radar systems to detect and
- 5:46
- identify surface targets and have the ability to strike both surface and submerged targets,
- 5:51
- making them useful for a range of mission types in various settings and scenarios.
- 5:56
- Added up, this massive aid package was worth over $250 million, and Portugal isn’t stopping there.
- 6:03
- At a NATO summit in 2024, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced
- 6:09
- that his country would repeat its feat in 2025, telling journalists:
- 6:14
- “This year alone, we estimate that we will be able to reach a value of support of more than
- 6:19
- €220 million, which will be repeated next year.” As further evidence of Portugal’s commitment
- 6:25
- to the cause, the country has also joined several multinational capability coalitions
- 6:31
- to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, including the armored vehicles coalition, aviation coalition,
- 6:37
- and naval power coalition. These coalitions involve several nations working together to
- 6:42
- help Ukraine become stronger on land, in the air, and at sea, so it can fend off Russian
- 6:48
- attacks, no matter what form they take. On top of all that, since the war began,
- 6:53
- Ukraine has forged a strong working relationship with the Portuguese company Tekever.
- 6:58
- Founded in 2001 by former students of the IST engineering school at the University of Lisbon,
- 7:05
- Tekever specializes in unmanned aerial systems, or drones, along with other aerospace, defense,
- 7:11
- and security technologies. It supplies defense products to numerous military and police forces
- 7:17
- around the world, from the Brazilian Navy to the Portuguese National Republic Guard,
- 7:22
- the Spanish National Police Corps, and the British Royal Air Force. Even the United States Special
- 7:27
- Operations Command has conducted exercises with Tekever and shown interest in further
- 7:33
- cooperation with the company. Tekever has provided Ukraine’s
- 7:37
- Armed Forces with two specific types of reconnaissance drones: the AR3 and the AR5.
- 7:43
- Both of these systems can carry out surveillance and recon missions at sea and on land, with the
- 7:49
- AR5 being slightly larger and more advanced. It’s able to carry payloads of over 100 pounds,
- 7:55
- or around 50 kilograms, while the AR3 carries payloads of under 10 pounds,
- 8:00
- or just four kilograms. The AR5 also has a longer flight duration and can stay in the air for
- 8:06
- periods of up to 20 hours, total. These drones have proven
- 8:10
- invaluable for Ukrainian soldiers. In a video case study published on the
- 8:14
- Tekever website, a Ukrainian platoon commander named Kostiantyn, serving with the Black Forest
- 8:20
- 15th Artillery Recon Brigade, explains how the AR3 provides critical intelligence for accurate,
- 8:27
- impactful artillery strikes on high-value Russian targets, including those that the Russians might
- 8:33
- try to hide, far from the front lines: “This UAV allows us to remain airborne for
- 8:38
- extended periods, conducting operations throughout the entire day without the
- 8:42
- need for return maneuvers or landings. One of the missions that stood out the
- 8:46
- most to me was when, thanks to this drone, we penetrated deep into enemy-controlled territory
- 8:52
- and managed to detect an S-400 station, which we successfully targeted with firepower. That
- 8:58
- was the most spectacular footage I’ve seen during this war. The entire complex was destroyed with
- 9:03
- a single strike. More than a billion dollars.” In addition, Tekever is committed to gathering
- 9:09
- battlefield data, listening to Ukrainian soldiers’ feedback, and making rapid,
- 9:14
- valuable changes to its drone technology in mere days or even hours to improve its effectiveness in
- 9:20
- this dynamic and ever-evolving war. As Kostiantyn explains:
- 9:24
- “Because we maintain very close contact with the manufacturer, we continuously provide
- 9:29
- them with all the feedback we gather from our missions. They listen to our recommendations,
- 9:34
- analyze the challenges we face on the battlefield and implement modifications to certain parts of
- 9:40
- the aircraft. Over the past year – or even longer – we’ve encountered different types of problems,
- 9:46
- and while new ones sometimes arise, we always strive to find solutions together.”
- 9:51
- Earlier this year, Tekever and Ukraine celebrated a massive milestone: the AR3 drone platform had
- 9:57
- surpassed more than 10,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine, helping to support critical
- 10:03
- intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions on the ground and in the air.
- 10:08
- Tekever also revealed that it had more than 100 design iterations since launching in Ukraine, with
- 10:14
- the developers responding to front-line feedback to help the Armed Forces as much as possible.
- 10:19
- But here’s an even more impressive number: $4 billion.
- 10:24
- That’s how much damage Portugal’s Tekever drones have helped Ukraine inflict on Russian military
- 10:29
- equipment, including not just one but two of Russia’s most advanced and expensive
- 10:33
- air defense systems: the S-400. And the company’s incredibly
- 10:38
- valuable aid has not gone unnoticed. John Ridge, Chief Adaptation Officer at NATO’s
- 10:44
- Innovation Fund, hailed Tekever as one of the most successful drone suppliers to Ukraine, stating:
- 10:50
- “Their drone surveillance solutions are helping Ukraine counter Russian
- 10:53
- aggression by constantly innovating to keep up with the pace of the conflict.”
- 10:58
- What’s more, Tekever isn’t done yet. In fact, it recently took another massive
- 11:03
- step in upscaling its support for Ukraine. In April of this year, the company announced
- 11:08
- the creation of a new subsidiary within Ukraine itself, collaborating with the
- 11:13
- country’s Ministry of Strategic Industries to open a network of Ukraine-based facilities for
- 11:18
- drone maintenance, engineering support, research and development, and drone operator training, too.
- 11:25
- Since these facilities will be situated on Ukrainian territory, they could play a huge role
- 11:30
- in speeding up drone servicing and getting more operators in key areas close to the front lines,
- 11:35
- ready to take to the skies with AR3 and AR5 drones to spot and take out even more high-value Russian
- 11:42
- targets, dealing millions or even billions in additional damage as the war goes on.
- 11:47
- Every successful strike carried out with the aid of Portuguese drones can also help to save lives,
- 11:53
- cripple Russian military infrastructure, and pave the way for Ukraine’s soldiers to hold onto
- 11:58
- valuable land or even launch successful counter-attacks along the front lines.
- 12:03
- As such, it’s impossible to say just how important these drones have been and continue
- 12:08
- to be, day in and day out. But drones and helicopters
- 12:12
- aren’t all that Portugal is providing. It’s also making sure that Ukrainian Armed
- 12:17
- Forces personnel are better trained, helping them gain the knowledge and skills they need
- 12:22
- to survive on the battlefield, use Western weapons as efficiently as possible, and take
- 12:27
- out Russian targets with ruthless precision. To do all this, Portugal plays its part in
- 12:33
- the EU’s EUMAM mission, which as of mid‑2025 has trained over 62,000 Ukrainian soldiers
- 12:41
- across EU countries—expected to reach 75,000 by the end of the year—preparing them for
- 12:47
- all kinds of real-world combat conditions. Portugal is also a member of the 11-country
- 12:52
- Coalition of Aviation Capabilities and uses its own Air Force bases as training centers,
- 12:58
- where Ukrainian pilots and crews are educated on how to fly and operate F-16 fighter jets.
- 13:05
- Again, the long-term value of this is immeasurable. Thanks to Portugal’s generosity
- 13:10
- and assistance, Ukraine will soon have more fully-trained fighter pilots ready to take to the
- 13:15
- skies and possibly bring down enemy fighters or participate in attacks on Russian command posts,
- 13:21
- production plants, oil refineries, or other important targets, further weakening
- 13:26
- the Kremlin’s war machine, one strike at a time. Portugal is also playing an active role in turning
- 13:32
- frozen Russian assets against the Kremlin. It’s part of the EU’s Extraordinary Revenue
- 13:38
- Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative. This scheme, launched in 2024, essentially
- 13:44
- involves taking the profits generated by various frozen Russian assets across Europe and then using
- 13:49
- that money to support Ukraine, funding the likes of new air defense systems, ammunition supplies,
- 13:55
- and defense industry investments. It’s already been a hugely successful venture, with the first
- 14:01
- €1.5 billion in funds arriving in mid-2024. By May of this year, Ukraine had received €6 billion in
- 14:09
- total through the ERA program, and EU leaders recently committed another €1 billion, too.
- 14:16
- In total, the EU has pledged a staggering €35 billion in support in 2025, including both ERA
- 14:23
- loan money and funds from the Ukraine Facility program. Portugal fully backs and participates
- 14:30
- in these decisions, further cementing its unwavering and steadfast support for Kyiv.
- 14:35
- The country has also been a reliable backer of massive EU sanctions against Russia.
- 14:41
- Since mid 2024, for example, the EU has put new sanctions packages in place against Moscow, all of
- 14:48
- which have been wholeheartedly backed by Portugal. The financial measures target Russia’s military
- 14:53
- and energy industries, along with propaganda media outlets and various senior officials and oligarchs
- 14:59
- who have supported Putin and contributed to war crimes and atrocities, like the bombing of the
- 15:04
- Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv, which is the largest children’s hospital in the whole of Ukraine,
- 15:09
- treating tens of thousands of patients per year. Portugal has also actively imposed sanctions and
- 15:15
- restrictions on countries that continue to aid and invest in Russia, like Iran, which has supplied
- 15:20
- drones to the Russian Army, and North Korea, which has sent soldiers, engineers, and construction
- 15:26
- workers to the country. The likes of China, India, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Serbia
- 15:32
- also make up the list of sanctioned nations. As far as humanitarian aid goes,
- 15:37
- Portugal has continued to demonstrate remarkable generosity and support.
- 15:42
- Even before its 2024 security agreement was signed, Portugal had been helping
- 15:47
- Ukrainian civilians survive. It joined the Grain from Ukraine initiative in 2023,
- 15:53
- which attempts to minimize the amount of damage done to the global food supply because of Russia’s
- 15:58
- blockades and repeated bombardments of Ukrainian ports. The Portuguese government has contributed
- 16:04
- €7 million to this noble cause, helping unblock food supply routes to help food flow wherever
- 16:10
- it’s needed, in Ukraine and beyond. In 2024, Ukraine also strengthened its
- 16:16
- partnership with Portugal’s Investment and Foreign Trade Agency, or AICEP, which has
- 16:21
- worked hard to promote and support Ukrainian businesses, attracting foreign investment,
- 16:26
- developing e-commerce, and essentially bringing more money into Ukraine’s economy at a time of
- 16:32
- major financial strife for the country and its countless companies, great and small.
- 16:37
- Also in 2024, Portugal participated in the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation,
- 16:43
- pledging to expand trade and economic cooperation with Ukraine, while also taking steps to get
- 16:48
- Portuguese companies more directly involved in the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure.
- 16:54
- Speaking of reconstruction, Portugal has also been an active player in helping to restore
- 16:59
- and rebuild schools that have been bombed and blown away by Russia’s ruthless airstrikes.
- 17:05
- Like School No. 25 in the city of Zhytomyr, which was wiped out
- 17:09
- in a Russian attack back in March of 2022. Portugal also invested €160,000 to fund the
- 17:16
- creation of two new so-called Superhero schools in Chernihiv and Cherkasyin 2024. These schools
- 17:24
- are specially designed to help children who are in hospital and undergoing long-term inpatient
- 17:29
- treatment to continue receiving an education. Portugal is also playing a big part in holding
- 17:34
- Russia accountable for its invasion. Back in the spring of 2023, for example,
- 17:40
- Portugal contributed €75,000 to the International Criminal Court for the collection of evidence of
- 17:46
- Russian war crimes in Ukraine. It also deployed one of its own leading experts
- 17:51
- from the Portuguese Judicial Police to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to assist in that process.
- 17:57
- Portugal has also joined two big coalitions: the Coalition for the Establishment of a Special
- 18:03
- Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and the International
- 18:07
- Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. The Coalition for the Establishment of a Special
- 18:12
- Tribunal involves around 40 partner countries which have been working together over the past
- 18:17
- couple of years to prepare the necessary documents needed to create the tribunal. In May of this
- 18:23
- year, those documents were successfully assembled and submitted to the Council of Europe, and in
- 18:28
- June Ukraine and the Council signed an agreement to formally establish the Special Tribunal.
- 18:34
- It will operate in The Hague and start work in 2026, with the power to prosecute up to 30 senior
- 18:40
- Russian leaders and Belarusian officials, too, including Putin himself, as well as the Belarusian
- 18:46
- president, Alexander Lukashenko and Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov.
- 18:52
- Even if these men refuse to attend, that won’t matter, as the tribunal has the power to operate
- 18:57
- in absentia, so sentences can still be passed even without the accused individuals being present.
- 19:03
- If convicted, the accused could face lifetime imprisonment.
- 19:07
- The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, meanwhile, has been
- 19:12
- working tirelessly to find hundreds of Ukrainian children forcefully taken from their homeland and
- 19:17
- deported by Russia, and bring them back home. So far, about 1,300 children have been saved,
- 19:24
- thanks to the incredible efforts of the collective countries involved.
- 19:28
- So, despite technically being the furthest EU country away from Ukraine,
- 19:32
- geographically speaking, Portugal has proven itself to be one of Kyiv’s closest and most
- 19:37
- reliable allies. It’s an unsung hero of this war, providing immeasurable support
- 19:42
- and assistance in all the areas that matter most. From giving Ukraine eyes in the skies with its
- 19:47
- industry-leading surveillance drones to training its fighter pilots, rebuilding its schools,
- 19:52
- feeding its people, strengthening its defenses, and investing in its economy,
- 19:57
- Portugal is leaving no stone unturned. It’s doing everything in its power to help the
- 20:02
- people of Ukraine survive and emerge victorious, and, as recent statements from Portugal’s Prime
- Minister and other leading figures prove, it’s not showing any signs of stopping,
- any time soon. With allies like this, Ukraine has a much stronger chance of winning this war.
- Learn more about Ukraine’s latest victories in our recent video, detailing how the country’s
- armed forces clever baited Russian tanks and armored vehicles into a veritable death trap
- in the Donetsk region. Or, if you prefer to see a prime example of the Kremlin’s incompetence,
- check out this video, exploring how Russia has managed to accidentally
- bomb itself no less than 100 times in 2025 alone! And, if you’re not already a subscriber, make sure
- to follow our channel so you can stay in-the-know and up-to-date on all major developments from the
- Russia-Ukraine conflict and other important geopolitical events across the globe.