“There are big problems with logistics”: how the US intends to speed up the transfer of Western weapons to Ukraine

Washington and Kyiv agreed on their steps to speed up the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine from the United States and other countries.

This was announced by the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba.

“We have coordinated steps to accelerate the delivery of heavy weapons from the United States and other partners,” he wrote on his Twitter after talking with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

As the Pentagon press service subsequently informed, the United States, together with other states, are synchronizing their actions in order to transfer weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as soon as possible.

“This is the task of the International Group for the Coordination of Donor Countries under the European Command of the US Armed Forces.

The group coordinates the efforts of donor countries from around the world aimed at providing Ukraine with the necessary military means,” the press release says.

As specified, one of the tasks of the mentioned structure is “pooling funds”.

“Donor countries may offer models of the same system, but their versions may differ.

The barrel can be provided by one donor country, the chassis by another, and the ammunition by a third.

A fourth or fifth donor country may provide transport for the system.

The bottom line is to transfer a working system to the Ukrainian military as soon as possible, ”the Pentagon explained.

The department also reported that within this group, work is underway to translate the interface of weapons, their manuals “and specifications for their maintenance” from different languages ​​into Ukrainian.

In addition, the structure coordinates efforts to train representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the West.

“The volume of Soviet-era weapons and ammunition used by Ukrainian soldiers is limited, and the country’s armed forces are moving to more modern weapons systems that meet NATO standards.

This involves training (on their operation.

), and the group is coordinating the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the West, ”the Pentagon press service said in a statement.

• Pentagon

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Glowimages

Earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that nine American HIMARS missile systems and similar systems had already been transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

However, according to him, Ukraine needs dozens more of these launchers.

"In the hope of prolonging the conflict"

Recall that on July 3, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with media representatives that accelerating the supply of Western weapons would allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine "to have a fire advantage."

“Then we will put more pressure on Russia in this direction,” he stressed.

Later that day, during his address to the citizens of the country, Zelensky promised to strengthen the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by increasing arms supplies.

On July 5, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a conference call that the West had already delivered more than 28,000 tons of military cargo to Ukraine.

“The collective West, in the hope of prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, continues large-scale arms supplies to the Kyiv regime,” Shoigu stated.

However, according to him, some of the weapons supplied by Western countries to Ukrainian territories end up on the black market and “spread across the Middle East region.”

Similar precedents were also reported in Kyiv.

As the director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine Vadim Melnyk said on the air of the TV channel "Ukraine-24", the department revealed repeated cases of the sale of military products coming from Western countries.

This information was commented by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“When I talk about the fact that Western weapons and mercenaries coming to Ukraine will become part of the EU black market, the Kyiv regime goes into hysterics.

What, I wonder, will they do with Vadim Melnik?

Will they be shot in the yard like the Ukrainian negotiator Denis Kireev?”

— Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.

• Weapons of Western countries captured from the Armed Forces of Ukraine

• RIA News

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

For its part, former Pentagon analyst Karen Kwiatkowski noted in a commentary to RIA Novosti that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not been able to effectively use many types of Western weapons and equipment.

“Ukraine’s ability to use these“ gifts ”is limited due to insufficient preparedness (of military personnel.

), problems with logistics and the constantly declining size of the Ukrainian army,” she said.

"A whole series of complexities"

Experts doubt that the efforts of Kyiv and Washington will lead to a significant acceleration in the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, since there are many problems in the logistics process.

“Everything is not as easy as it may seem to the Kyiv regime.

The supply of Western weapons to the country is associated with a number of difficulties.

As a result, some of the weapons go to third countries, some are destroyed on the way to the line of contact, and what arrives does not live on the battlefield for a long time, ”military expert Alexei Leonkov said in an interview with RT.

Recall, on July 6, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of two launchers of the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in the DPR and two ammunition depots for them by high-precision air-launched missiles.

At the same time, as Leonkov emphasized, the Armed Forces of Ukraine very often do not know how to use Western weapons.

“Very few Ukrainian military can somehow use such weapons.

The United States and Western countries conduct appropriate training, but these are accelerated courses for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during which it is impossible to learn how to effectively use Western military equipment.

As a result, the Ukrainian military did not become masters of artillery fire.

Breakdowns of weapons were noted, in particular M777 howitzers, and their return for repair to Europe, ”says the analyst.

At the same time, he admits that the intensity of arms supplies to Ukraine will decrease over time.

“It was no coincidence that Biden spoke about Washington’s conversation with 50 countries, which, as a result, promised to provide weapons to Kyiv.

In this case, the United States is trying to eliminate itself by shifting the responsibility for the supply to its allies.

But Washington's partners are in no hurry to fill Kyiv with weapons, fearing to lose their own supplies, ”he said.

In a RT commentary, Nikolai Kostikin, an expert at the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, predicted that it would be increasingly difficult for the United States and its allies to increase the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, given that many supply chains are being destroyed by the Russian Armed Forces.

“It will not be easy for the West to increase the volume of such supplies.

But even if Washington and its partners manage to transfer a significant amount of weapons to Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are unlikely to be able to use its potential to the full, since most of the experienced Ukrainian military has already been out of action.

Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine mainly get on mobilization, and such a contingent knows little about the use of Western systems, ”the analyst noted.

• Ukrainian soldier with American weapons in his hands

• AP

Kostikin calls the statements of the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry about plans to increase arms imports a "PR campaign."

“Such slogans are needed by the Ukrainian side to raise their own fighting spirit, for the internal consumer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he believes.

From his point of view, the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv is not capable of preventing Russia from fulfilling its tasks as part of a special operation.

“All this cannot significantly complicate the course of the NWO.

It is not enough just to supply this equipment - it still needs to be brought to the battlefield, supplied with ammunition and be able to use it effectively.

But if the supply chains are not established, then none of this will work.

And the Armed Forces of Ukraine have big problems with logistics, ”the expert summed up.