The British Financial Times explained in an article that officials in Ukraine have not stopped calling for stronger Western military support so that they can confront the Russian forces with all their powerful military arsenal.

The newspaper quoted Mikhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, as saying that Kyiv needed heavy weapons to end the war, and had drawn up a "bold list" of weapons needed by the Ukrainian army to ensure parity on the ground.

Podolyak estimated that Ukraine urgently needed 1,000 155-mm howitzers, an advanced missile system, and 500 tanks, but the West pledged to provide only 250 howitzers, according to the Financial Times.


pledges

Western regimes have promised - since the start of the war last February - to provide the necessary support to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russian forces, but Kyiv is still waiting for more and warning of the dangerous situation for it.

The Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief, General Valery Zalogny, recently appealed to the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, to expedite the provision of military aid to Kiev, stressing that despite "everything", the Ukrainian forces are still struggling to maintain their positions.

The newspaper explains that Ukraine says that its human casualties have risen dramatically, and in some days it has reached 200 soldiers, and it may reach about 800 dead a day.

But Rochan, a military advisory firm, said it believed the figures provided by the Ukrainian authorities were intended to spur the West to speed up the provision of needed military supplies.


Challenges

The newspaper points out that there are several challenges facing the military support provided to Ukraine, including maintenance and training, as Ukrainian soldiers need time and trainers to master the handling of the weapons provided, knowing that Ukraine was promised a large amount of equipment and received little.

Kyiv needs a long time to train reservists as well if it wants the fight against the Russians to continue steadily.

The Financial Times quoted analysts as warning that Western disputes over providing military aid to Ukraine may reinforce the Russian authorities' sense that they may win the war.

This feeling, according to the newspaper, is reinforced by the progress of the Russians in the Donbass region.

Noting that Moscow succeeded in aggravating the economic situation in the West through measures that contributed to raising energy and food prices, and Western leaders are considering how to persuade President Vladimir Putin to allow the export of Ukrainian grain, at least, to alleviate the crisis.