After arduous months of war that erupted following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainian forces inflicted a series of major defeats on Moscow. These victories forced Russian soldiers to withdraw first from the area near the capital and then withdraw from the western Kherson region.
But after a muddy season that made the fighting grueling, and with winter threatening to further slow Ukraine's counter-offensive, the war does not seem to be over any time soon.
Tanks and armored vehicles
In this context, Newsweek asked British military expert Frank Ludwidge, who served in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, about the type of weapons Ukraine would need to defeat the Russians and end the war quickly.
Ludwidge insists that arming Ukraine with additional tanks and armored vehicles will help its forces defeat Russia on its soil.
He stressed the importance of the armored vehicles accompanying the tanks in a joint operation, "otherwise you will face the same problem that the Russians entered with their tanks."
He explained that Russian tanks were operating alone near Kyiv earlier in the war, which made them more likely to be targeted by Ukrainian infantry.
missile systems
The other weapon that the Ukrainians have requested is long-range missile systems, such as the Army's Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, that will allow them to strike Crimea and drive out most of the Russian Navy because they will be under attack all the time, or at least under threat of attack all the time.
air force
As for the third weapon, it is air power represented by fighters, because much of the military aid to Kiev in the past months has focused on ground forces and air defense, more of which will be necessary for the Ukrainian air force to defeat the Russians.
Ludwidge stressed the importance of rearming Ukraine with Western fighters, either the American F-16 or the Swedish Saab Gripen, as these fighters could make the difference between ending the war or continuing the conflict.