BRUSSELS, June 9. /TASS/. Belgium will continue to supply weapons to Kiev, pending an answer to a query about how Belgian assault rifles ended up in the hands of the militants who attacked Russia’s Belgorod Region, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said in an interview with the newspaper Le Soir on Friday.

"Belgium will not suspend military aid to Ukraine pending a response from the Ukrainian side," she said.

Belgium is waiting until June 15 for Ukraine's response to questions about the use of its weapons for this attack.

"We sent a request to Ukraine on Monday (June 5 - TASS). We will have a contact group for Ukraine on June 15. If there is no response before then, I will talk to [Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey] Reznikov," Dedonder said. She stressed that "every shipment of weapons supplied has a document attached to it that explains that they are to be used only to defend Ukrainian territory, and not to attack other states; it also says that human rights and international norms must be respected."

"When we look at the photos, we come to the conclusion that these are [Belgian-made] FN Scar assault rifles. But did they come from the aid shipments that Belgium had sent to Ukraine? Or from the batches purchased by other countries from the FN group? Or were they picked up on battlefields, as it often happens in any conflict zone? I hope it that this will be clarified at some point," Dedonder said.

Many weapons

Dedonder noted that Belgium had already supplied Ukraine with 274 million euros worth of weapons.

"We have sent different types of weapons: automatic small arms, ammunition, machine guns, anti-tank weapons, heavy mortars, medical equipment and protective equipment. We send supplies depending on Ukraine's needs, which evolve over time. Recently, we have been supplying anti-tank missiles and ammunition for air defense and artillery," she said.

Hundreds of soldiers trained

As follows from what Dedonder said, Belgium has already trained more than 700 Ukrainian troops, including snipers and sappers, and the training of air pilots "will start soon."

She stressed that the training of air pilots will "definitely not take place on Belgian territory."

"So far, Belgium has trained over 700 Ukrainian military personnel. We are continuing the intensive training of soldiers, including snipers and sappers, and general combat training specialists. Most are being trained in Germany and Poland. To this we can add bilateral training programs that had existed before, both general purpose ones and programs for special operation forces," she said.