South Korea considers lifting ban on arms supplies to Ukraine
South Korea has been supporting Ukraine for months, but the assistance provided does not include "lethal weapons." However, Seoul is increasingly considering lifting the ban on supplying such weapons due to Russia's and North Korea's actions. According to Global Firepower rankings, South Korea has the fifth most powerful army in the world, so it could provide Ukraine with well-known equipment.
The Ukrainian portal Defence Express, specializing in military topics, believes that among the "favourites" that might reach Ukraine from South Korean stockpiles are T-80U tanks and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles.
Weapons from South Korea for Ukraine?
According to publicly available data, the South Korean army has approximately 40 T-80U tanks and around 70 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, which Russia delivered to the country in the 1990s.
Despite the ongoing threat from North Korea, the T-80U and BMP-3 are not significant for the South Korean army, which possesses a range of newer arsenal. Additionally, the T-80U and BMP-3 are no longer in satisfactory technical condition, but for Ukraine, they could still be valuable reinforcements — both as combat equipment and as "spare parts donors."
The BMP-3 was introduced into service in the USSR in the late 1970s as an improvement over the BMP-2. After the dissolution of the USSR, some BMP-3 units were included in the armies of newly formed countries, including Ukraine, which continues to use these infantry fighting vehicles to this day. These vehicles are based on tracked traction and engines with a power of approximately 500 horsepower. They can accelerate up to about 70 km/h. They are armed with a low-pressure 100 mm cannon, a 30 mm cannon, and a 7.62 mm machine gun.
Will South Korea change its approach to the war in Ukraine?
The T-80U is one of the variants of the widely distributed T-80 family of tanks. They also originate from the USSR, with some variants used by both sides of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The T-80U features a more powerful engine generating 1,250 horsepower. The main armament consists of a 125 mm smoothbore cannon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first approached the South Korean parliament in 2022, requesting, among other things, the transfer of armoured vehicles, air defence systems, and other heavy weapons. However, such requests have consistently been rejected by Seoul.
Considerations regarding a possible change of stance are intensifying largely due to the actions of North Korea and Russia, which are increasingly cooperating militarily and economically. Pyongyang has been supplying artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles used by Putin's army in Ukraine for months, and there have been reports that it may decide to send its soldiers to the Ukrainian front.
