"The Russians must get bogged down there." How the United States is fueling the conflict in Ukraine
Trains and automobile convoys with Western weapons go to Ukraine through the Polish border almost daily. NATO is trying to hastily restore the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and thereby slow down the Russian special operation. However, it is very difficult to do this - in a month of hostilities, the Ukrainian security forces suffered huge losses in heavy equipment, which there is simply nothing to replace.
Restore air defense
NATO does not spare money for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the coming days, the United States plans to begin deliveries under the largest $800 million military aid package: small arms, anti-tank and man-portable air defense systems, counter-battery radars, ammunition, personal protective equipment. Something was sent before, but now Washington has expanded the range
According to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the Pentagon, heavy equipment will be provided to Kiev for the first time. So far, we are talking about Soviet air defense systems that were in service with the Warsaw Pact countries and are well known to Ukrainian specialists. Over the decades, the Americans have assembled a good "collection": dozens of Osa, Tor-M2, Buk, S-300V air defense systems.
The United States is urging allies to help with modern air defense systems. For example, they asked Turkey to transfer Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to Kiev. In exchange, they promised their own, as well as the return to the program of the fifth generation F-35 fighter. Ankara refused, explaining that it did not want to spoil relations with either Russia or Ukraine.
It is actively arming the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the European Union, which has allocated a billion euros from the European Peace Fund for this. Germany plans to ship two thousand Panzerfaust grenade launchers from the stocks of the Bundeswehr. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the eve of the EU, G7 and NATO summits, announced the dispatch of 6,000 NLAW and Javelin anti-tank missile systems. London has already delivered about 4,000 ATGMs earlier. According to the local press, this threatens with a shortage in the British army itself.
Destroy on the way
Of course, Russia reacts. Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov pointed out that Kyiv receives lethal weapons in a simplified manner and this threatens to "spread the missile weapons transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine throughout the European Union and neighboring regions." For example, terrorists with Stinger MANPADS will become a big problem for civil aviation.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, stressed that any military cargo arriving in Ukraine is considered a legitimate target. There is no doubt that the Russian army is capable of attacking the western part of the country. Thus, the Yavoriv test site in the Lviv region, which was tested with cruise missiles in March, is located just 25 kilometers from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
“The strike on the Yavoriv test site clearly showed that we are serious,” says military expert Oleksiy Leonkov. “And we will not allow any concessions in the issue of supporting military operations on the territory of Ukraine with weapons or mercenaries. When our intelligence detects disguised warehouses or columns, they are destroyed. And Western countries should clearly understand this."
Colossal losses
However, arms supplies are not enough for President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the NATO summit, he said: Kiev needs military assistance without restrictions. And he added that the alliance could share one percent of its tanks and aircraft with Ukraine. It is unlikely that his wish will come true. Ukrainian tankers and pilots do not know how to handle Western equipment. And NATO will not dare to send crews, since this is a direct clash with Russia.
Zelensky can be understood. During the month of hostilities, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost thousands of units of military equipment, which there is nothing to replace in combat units. According to the reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense, 1572 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles have already been destroyed. This is a lot. Until February 24, Ukraine had about 2,400 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, according to the annual analytical report The Military Balance.
Artillery also suffered heavy losses: 160 rocket launchers, 633 guns and mortars (it was about 1770). In addition, 189 out of 320 anti-aircraft missile systems were hit. The vast majority of the surviving air defense systems are not combat-ready and do not threaten Russian aviation in any way.
На Украину через польскую границу практически ежедневно идут железнодорожные составы и автомобильные колонны с западным вооружением. НАТО пытается спешно... РИА Новости, 28.03.2022
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