Retired US Military Commander In Afghanistan To NATO Troop Leaders Help Supply Protective Equipment For Ukraine

Ukrainian military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - A panel of retired military leaders from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands will advise the pro-Ukrainian campaign on procuring protective gear for Ukraine's defense forces, a non-profit group based in Canada said Tuesday.

Panel four included former commander of US forces in Afghanistan David Petraeus, former NATO commander Wesley Clark and former Dutch defense chief Dick Lodewijk Berlijn, according to the World Congress of Ukraine (UWC).

The panel, which is expected to grow in size, is chaired by retired Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Rick Hillier.

It will focus on helping supply Ukraine's territorial defense forces with protective equipment, such as helmets, body armor, ballistic goggles and medical equipment, the UWC said in a statement.

"If we can help them (Ukrainian defense forces) equipment from the West, we can help them win this war," Hillier told a news conference.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in what it calls a "special military operation" to ensure its own security, has sparked widespread sanctions against Moscow and united the West to support Ukraine with military and humanitarian assistance.

The UWC campaign has so far raised funds to procure and deliver $24 million worth of protective equipment, including the largest non-government shipment of Israeli bandages, used to stop bleeding from traumatic injuries, and gas masks.

The group, which represents Ukraine globally, has also requested a review of the Canadian government's decision to return turbines to Germany needed for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

Canada has one of the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world outside of countries bordering Ukraine and the public has been successful in pressuring Ottawa to impose increasingly stringent sanctions on Russia.