What 'we' and NATO are supplying to the Ukrainian military continues to be dangerously inadequate. The following reports are from The Washington Post and Air Force Magazine:
'What weapons to send to Ukraine? How debate shifted from helmets to tanks.'
'Ukrainian officials are clear on what they want from the United States and Europe: weap…
What 'we' and NATO are supplying to the Ukrainian military continues to be dangerously inadequate. The following reports are from The Washington Post and Air Force Magazine:
'What weapons to send to Ukraine? How debate shifted from helmets to tanks.'
'Ukrainian officials are clear on what they want from the United States and Europe: weapons. Big, heavy weapons. Not helmets.'
'They say they need these weapons now, not later. And a lot of them.'
'The message has been broadly the same from the start of Russia’s invasion, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly said “I need ammunition, not a ride,” to this past week, when Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told NATO leaders in Brussels that he had a threefold agenda: “weapons, weapons and weapons.”
'But in the United States and Europe, the discussions over what types of weapons to send are far different from what they were just six weeks ago.'
'This is a pivotal moment of the war, and as the battlefield shifts, the sorts of weapons Ukrainian forces need are changing, too. There is no longer a fear that the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, could fall within days. Russian forces are repositioning for a fight over eastern Ukraine — what many predict will be full-scale confrontation on flat, open, rural terrain, between infantry, armor and artillery, in the kind of engagements not seen in generations.'
'Battles may be tougher for Ukrainians as war shifts to wide-open terrain in east'
'On Saturday, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky. His main message was about weapons: that Britain would supply 120 more armored vehicles, in addition to anti-ship missile systems to support Ukraine in the Black Sea.'
'This next phase of war in Ukraine could be “protracted” — “measured in months or longer,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned at a White House briefing. It could look like something from World War II, with two large armies facing off, Kuleba told NATO foreign ministers earlier this week.'
“To win such a war, we need different help than what we have been receiving before,” said Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, in a video appeal released Thursday. “We want to liberate the enemy-occupied territories as soon as possible. To do this, we need other weapons.”
'Now, some NATO countries are preparing to supply Ukraine with more lethal, sophisticated, long-range and heavily armored weapons.'
“So antitank missiles alone are not going to cut it,” said Michael Kofman, research program director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA, a think tank based in Arlington, Va.'
'Kofman estimated that Ukraine needs “hundreds” of armored combat vehicles, including tanks, and a tremendous amount of ammunition.'
Reznikov ticked off a longer list: air defense systems and combat aircraft to protect citizens and Ukrainian troops from missiles and airstrikes; long-range artillery to keep Russian forces at a distance; tanks and armored vehicles to break through Russian defenses and liberate the occupied territories; and anti-ship missiles to beat back the Russian naval siege and unblock ports on the Black Sea.'
'Western governments have been reluctant to send such heavy weaponry. But the Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to contribute tanks, a senior Czech official confirmed to The Washington Post on Saturday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a transfer that hasn’t been announced officially.'
“Hopefully, that will start a race to who can supply more,” said William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“It’s hard to be the first one” to send tanks, “but when someone breaks the ice, it’s much easier,” said Margiris Abukevicius, a Lithuanian vice minister of defense who was in Washington this past week to discuss military cooperation with the United States
'The question is whether those will come as fast as Ukrainian officials want — to stop Russia’s advance and push out Russian troops.' (WashingtonPost) See link below.
'US Should Not Be Deterred by Putin, Should Send Aircraft to Ukraine, Former NATO Commander Says'
'Missteps by the West emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his latest Ukraine invasion, but the United States can still give Ukraine the weapons it needs to overcome Russian airpower, according to the participants in a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion,'
“It’s bigger than Ukraine,” said Breedlove, citing the two draft treaties Putin sent to the United States and NATO on Dec. 17.
“Mr. Putin has the initiative, and we don’t,” Breedlove said. “In our current state, our nation is completely deterred, and the NATO alliance is completely deterred, and Mr. Putin is not deterred.”
What 'we' and NATO are supplying to the Ukrainian military continues to be dangerously inadequate. The following reports are from The Washington Post and Air Force Magazine:
'What weapons to send to Ukraine? How debate shifted from helmets to tanks.'
'Ukrainian officials are clear on what they want from the United States and Europe: weapons. Big, heavy weapons. Not helmets.'
'They say they need these weapons now, not later. And a lot of them.'
'The message has been broadly the same from the start of Russia’s invasion, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly said “I need ammunition, not a ride,” to this past week, when Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told NATO leaders in Brussels that he had a threefold agenda: “weapons, weapons and weapons.”
'But in the United States and Europe, the discussions over what types of weapons to send are far different from what they were just six weeks ago.'
'This is a pivotal moment of the war, and as the battlefield shifts, the sorts of weapons Ukrainian forces need are changing, too. There is no longer a fear that the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, could fall within days. Russian forces are repositioning for a fight over eastern Ukraine — what many predict will be full-scale confrontation on flat, open, rural terrain, between infantry, armor and artillery, in the kind of engagements not seen in generations.'
'Battles may be tougher for Ukrainians as war shifts to wide-open terrain in east'
'On Saturday, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky. His main message was about weapons: that Britain would supply 120 more armored vehicles, in addition to anti-ship missile systems to support Ukraine in the Black Sea.'
'This next phase of war in Ukraine could be “protracted” — “measured in months or longer,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned at a White House briefing. It could look like something from World War II, with two large armies facing off, Kuleba told NATO foreign ministers earlier this week.'
“To win such a war, we need different help than what we have been receiving before,” said Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, in a video appeal released Thursday. “We want to liberate the enemy-occupied territories as soon as possible. To do this, we need other weapons.”
'Now, some NATO countries are preparing to supply Ukraine with more lethal, sophisticated, long-range and heavily armored weapons.'
“So antitank missiles alone are not going to cut it,” said Michael Kofman, research program director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA, a think tank based in Arlington, Va.'
'Kofman estimated that Ukraine needs “hundreds” of armored combat vehicles, including tanks, and a tremendous amount of ammunition.'
Reznikov ticked off a longer list: air defense systems and combat aircraft to protect citizens and Ukrainian troops from missiles and airstrikes; long-range artillery to keep Russian forces at a distance; tanks and armored vehicles to break through Russian defenses and liberate the occupied territories; and anti-ship missiles to beat back the Russian naval siege and unblock ports on the Black Sea.'
'Western governments have been reluctant to send such heavy weaponry. But the Czech Republic has become the first NATO country to contribute tanks, a senior Czech official confirmed to The Washington Post on Saturday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a transfer that hasn’t been announced officially.'
“Hopefully, that will start a race to who can supply more,” said William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“It’s hard to be the first one” to send tanks, “but when someone breaks the ice, it’s much easier,” said Margiris Abukevicius, a Lithuanian vice minister of defense who was in Washington this past week to discuss military cooperation with the United States
'The question is whether those will come as fast as Ukrainian officials want — to stop Russia’s advance and push out Russian troops.' (WashingtonPost) See link below.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/09/nato-heavy-weapons-ukraine/
'US Should Not Be Deterred by Putin, Should Send Aircraft to Ukraine, Former NATO Commander Says'
'Missteps by the West emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his latest Ukraine invasion, but the United States can still give Ukraine the weapons it needs to overcome Russian airpower, according to the participants in a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion,'
“It’s bigger than Ukraine,” said Breedlove, citing the two draft treaties Putin sent to the United States and NATO on Dec. 17.
“Mr. Putin has the initiative, and we don’t,” Breedlove said. “In our current state, our nation is completely deterred, and the NATO alliance is completely deterred, and Mr. Putin is not deterred.”
https://www.airforcemag.com/us-should-not-be-deterred-by-putin-should-send-aircraft-to-ukraine-former-nato-commander-says/