In April, the United States, the United Kingdom, and several other countries announced major new arms packages for Ukraine.
Ukraine is waiting for the weapons promised by the US and Germany
Following the approval of the new US military aid program, Ukraine has already received several urgent shipments of weapons, but there may be delays with subsequent shipments.
The New York Times writes about it.
According to the publication, last Sunday Ukraine received a batch of anti-tank weapons, rockets and much-needed 155 mm artillery shells. The second batch arrived on Monday. And on Tuesday, a new delivery of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems arrived in Poland from Spain. They will soon be on the Ukrainian front, said a high-ranking Spanish official.
However, it will be difficult for the US and other NATO allies to keep up this pace, the author of the publication notes.
Weapons pledged by the United States, Great Britain and Germany — all of which have announced significant new military support in the past three weeks — could take months before they arrive in large enough numbers to bolster Ukraine's defences on the battlefield, the NYT said, citing the words western officials.
High-ranking US and other Western officials agreed that artillery, anti-aircraft defences and other munitions were Ukraine's most urgent needs. They are also among the weapons that can be delivered the fastest.
Combat vehicles, boats, complex guns, missile launchers, and air defense systems are much more complex and take longer to move — in part because their size often requires them to be transported by sea and by train under heavy security.
One U.S. official said most of the big weapons that were financed by the new U.S. aid, and even some ammunition, likely won't be delivered until late summer — or even later.
The U.S. official said it will take time to figure out what items can be transferred to Ukraine without depleting NATO units that need to be combat-ready, such as those that use Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Humvee armored personnel carriers. Other weapons, such as the 155-millimeter artillery shells that Ukraine desperately needs, are in short supply around the world.
In addition, Ukrainian forces require training in the use of certain weapons before they can be transferred. For example, this applies to the third Patriot system, the transfer of which was announced by Germany back in mid-April.
It is expected that the new Patriot system will arrive in Ukraine no earlier than the end of June. Its delivery may coincide with the delivery of another major weapons system that Ukraine has long demanded: F-16 fighter jets.
Supply of Western weapons: what is known
On April 29, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that new aid from the United States has finally begun to arrive in Ukraine, but so far not everything promised has been delivered.
The head of state noted that Russia will try to make the most of the time until the Armed Forces have restored their weapons stocks.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian artillerymen at the front are still experiencing a shortage of weapons, despite the resumption of supplies. They admit that even in the worst first weeks of a full-scale war, they had more ammunition than they do now.
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