Pakistan likely to ship next defence consignment to Ukraine through Jordan and Poland

Pakistan is expected to ship the next consignment of defence equipment to Kiev via Jordan and Poland, having emerged as a key supplier to Ukraine in its counteroffensive against Russia since October last year. The next arms consignment from Pakistan Ordnance Factories will be shipped through a US flagged ship from the Aqaba naval base in Jordan to the Polish port of Gdansk and onwards to the Ukrainian armed forces, according to people aware of the matter.

The defence items that will be shipped include air defence vehicles, multiple barrel rocket launchers, recovery vehicles, cartridges and spare parts, they said. This is the first time Pakistan is using two countries to transport defence items to Ukraine. Jordan and Pakistan share old defence ties dating back to the Cold War. Jordan has been a supplier of US origin defence equipment to Pakistan in the past.

ET reported last month that Pakistan has set up a defence trading firm in Warsaw to smoothen the process of supplies to Ukraine. The firm has reportedly entered into partnership with Chinese defence firm Beijing Heweiyongtai Science & Tech Co Ltd to procure unmanned aerial vehicles for supplies to Ukraine. Pakistan defence trading firm Kestral Trading has reportedly established a firm in Warsaw under the name Balferrten Investments to facilitate supplies to Ukraine, EThad then reported.