“Contribute their contribution to the conflict”: will the West be able to significantly increase the supply of weapons to Ukraine

Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Jake Sullivan discussed with the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak additional assistance to Kyiv, including through the agreed $12 billion, which, among other things, should go to the defense needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This was reported in the White House.

“Jake Sullivan emphasized that the United States is committed to supporting the Ukrainian people who are defending their sovereignty and democracy, including through the provision of an additional $12 billion aid package, which President Biden recently signed (corresponding.

) law,” the statement says Adrian Watson, head of the press service of the National Security Council of the White House.

Earlier, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, said in an interview with CNN that the further development of the situation in Ukraine is "difficult to predict," but Washington will continue to provide security assistance to Kyiv "for as long as it takes."

Recall that since February 24, the United States has allocated more than $16.2 billion for the military needs of Ukraine.

The latest $1.1 billion aid package announced by the Pentagon on Sept. 28 included 18 HIMARS MLRS, 150 HMMWV armored vehicles, radar, anti-drone weapons, and 40 trucks and 80 trailers to transport heavy equipment and other weapons.

The United States is also ready to provide the Kyiv regime with $1.5 billion in monthly aid to support Ukraine's financial position "throughout the entire period of the military conflict with Russia," Bloomberg reports, citing sources, and is seeking similar amounts from its European allies.

“According to one of the interlocutors of the publication, last week diplomats preparing a meeting of leaders (EU countries.

) were informed that the expected amount of funding from European countries would approximately correspond to the $ 1.5 billion that the United States is ready to allocate monthly.

He also noted that these funds are critical to cover such vital costs as basic government spending, (ensuring the functioning. -

) schools, hospitals and power grids in Ukraine, ”the agency writes.

Washington Allied Party

In turn, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that support for Ukraine is "the bloc's top priority."

According to him, Kyiv needs additional assistance on a permanent basis.

“We will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine with military equipment, (as well as.

) economic and financial support.

I welcome the recently announced by President Biden the provision of additional assistance by the United States (Ukraine. 

).

Over the weekend (similar. 

) statements were also made by Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Slovakia and many others (countries. 

).

So the allies will step up their support for Ukraine,” he said in an interview with NBC News.

Recall that during the fifth meeting of a group of countries - donors of military assistance to Ukraine at the German Ramstein airbase, the head of the Pentagon said that the UK had sent a second batch of M270 MRLS launchers and ammunition to Kyiv, and Poland had transferred three divisions of 155-mm self-propelled howitzers.

According to him, Slovakia, North Macedonia and a number of other countries announced the allocation of their own "critical" supplies of tanks and other heavy armored vehicles.

• Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin

• AP

• © Michael Probst

According to the German government, Berlin has already handed over to the Armed Forces the COBRA counter-battery radar, 30 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, 54 M113 armored personnel carriers, more than 14 thousand anti-tank mines, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, spare parts for the MiG-29, 30 armored vehicles, three multiple launch rocket systems fire (MLRS) MARS with ammunition and howitzers PzH 2000 and other weapons.

Later, German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine, on the same day Berlin promised to promptly deliver the IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Kyiv.

Denmark, in turn, announced that, together with Norway and Germany, it intends to provide financial assistance to Slovakia in connection with the production and donation of Zuzana 2 self-propelled guns to Ukraine. According to media reports, we are talking about 16 of these self-propelled howitzers.

In addition, according to the Le Monde newspaper, citing sources, France can supply Ukraine with up to 12 CAESAR artillery mounts, which were previously intended for Denmark.

"They will scrape out their warehouses"

According to Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Vladimir Shapovalov, the negotiations between Washington and Kyiv on additional assistance to Ukraine indicate that on the eve of the next meeting at the Ramstein airbase, which is scheduled for October 12, the United States will learn about Kyiv’s military needs in order to announce during the summit on the supply of part of the weapons needed by the Kyiv regime.

“Such a dialogue between the United States and Ukraine can be explained by the need to agree on further tranches of military assistance, which can be announced during the sixth meeting of a group of countries that donor military assistance to Ukraine,” the expert said in an interview with RT.

Shapovalov also noted that not only Washington, apparently, will announce a new portion of such supplies to Kyiv.

“The United States by this time will carry out preventive work with its allies, who are also announcing regular arms deliveries.

Actions of this kind by the United States and its partners are a flagrant violation of international law.

This is a way of escalating tensions that does not contribute to the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but only fuels it more and more.

We are talking about a proxy war at the hands of the Ukrainians, which the West is waging against Russia: the United States and its allies, ”the analyst believes.

Shapovalov also noted that the funds that Washington allocates for military assistance to Kyiv will go primarily "to the needs of the American military-industrial complex and its stimulation."

As, in turn, the director of the Center for Military-Political Studies Alexei Podberyozkin noted in a commentary on RT, now the United States does not have enough weapons and military equipment to satisfy all the needs of the Kyiv regime.

“Although the US manufacturing capacity is huge.

It will take a year or a year and a half to put them at full speed.

Unless, of course, during this time there is a revolution in the American political elite and some adjustments are made to Washington's foreign policy regarding Ukraine.

This could happen after the congressional elections if the Republicans get an absolute majority.

Then it will be much more difficult for Democrat Biden to promote his initiatives on the Ukrainian case,” the expert said.

Podberyozkin also stated that there is "nothing extraordinary new and advanced" in Washington's current arms supplies to Kyiv.

“However, these weapons still contribute to the conflict in Ukraine, make it more bloody, endanger the civilian population who die from these weapons through the fault of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the analyst said.

At the same time, Podberezkin noted that, compared to the United States, which can still supply something to Kyiv, some European states have almost exhausted their stocks of weapons.

• Russian paratroopers demonstrate Western-made military weapons captured in battle against the Ukrainian Armed Forces

• RIA News

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Recall that former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder wrote about this in his article for Foreign Affairs magazine.

According to him, the US authorities are warning against the impossibility of providing support to Kyiv, as US stockpiles of weapons begin to decline.

In a number of EU countries, as he noted, weapons and military reserves to be sent to Ukraine have completely run out.

In particular, the Minister of Defense of Germany admitted that the stocks of the Bundeswehr are running out due to the supply of weapons to Kyiv.

According to her, the German authorities "reached the limit here."

At the same time, Podberezkin admitted that some European countries could still send some weapons to Ukraine.

“They are able to transfer several dozen howitzers or old anti-aircraft guns.

But it is unlikely that it will come to modern weapons such as Leopard tanks.

In some limited number, the Europeans will scrape out their warehouses.

But these few tranches are quickly destroyed by the RF Armed Forces.

In addition, the shortage of ammunition is not fully replenished with new supplies from the EU countries.

Everything that European countries transfer is usually liquidated in a week, but it takes at least several months to produce such weapons, ”the expert stated.

Podberyozkin emphasized that now the Russian Armed Forces are fighting not just with Ukrainian nationalists, but with the entire "combined fighting machine of the West."

“If we sum up all the military budgets of Western countries that support Kyiv with weapons, they are many times higher than Russia’s defense spending.

But everything that could be delivered to Ukraine, Washington and its associates have already delivered.

Now only a small part of the weapons is being withdrawn from the Armed Forces of Western countries and orders are being made for future deliveries that cannot be completed in a short time, ”he concluded.