Ukraine did not accept a fleet of donated armoured combat vehicles from Ireland as it would have cost too much to refurbish them, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. The Irish Times reported on Wednesday that the Government recently offered Ukraine all of the Defence Forces’ 27 light tactical armoured vehicles (LTAVs), which were first acquired 17 years ago but rarely used.The vehicles, which were made by a South African company, had a poor reputation and frequently broke down. They were eventually withdrawn from operations in 2024 and put into storage.Ireland frequently donates military equipment to the armed forces of Ukraine while Irish soldiers also provide training to Ukranian troops under an EU programme.Under the Government’s policy of military neutrality, both the training and equipment is designed to be “non-lethal” in nature. Previous equipment donations have included unarmed military transport vehicles, demining vehicles and body armour.Military training has concentrated on demining, medical care and combat engineering.The proposed donation of the LTAV fleet appears to push up against Government policy. The vehicles are typically equipped with remote weapons stations on the roof as standard, which are usually mounted with machine guns or grenade launchers.Speaking in Dublin, Zelenskiy said any offers of military equipment or hardware were greatly appreciated during its war with Russia.However, Ukraine’s defence ministry had to factor in whether money spent refitting or fixing gear could better be spent elsewhere, for example to buy drones.He said the offered vehicles were “old” and in need to “renovation” before they could be used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.“We never say no during the war,” he said. “We need armoured vehicles ... We need it, but if we can use this money for drones, we will use it for drones,” he said. Last month, during a meeting of the Defence Forces’ general staff, officers were informed that Ukraine had rejected the Irish offer and that the LTAVs could finally be removed from military stores and scrapped, a process known as “boarding”.Zelenskiy was speaking in a joint press conference with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, after attending a ceremony in Dublin Castle to mark the start of Ireland’s six-month term holding the EU presidency.