Two Patriot missile defense systemsten tracked vehicles Bandvagn and 100 machine guns from Germany. Grenade launcher from Slovakia. Armored Personnel Carriers of Poland: It’s an impressive one delivery alliance, which supports Ukraine in the defensive war against Russia with new weapons and equipment. The two supplied by Germany patriotDefense systems from US production, President Volodymyr Zelensky considers so important for Ukraine, which continues to be attacked by dozens of Russian rockets, cruise missiles and drones every day, that he calls Germany in general and “Olaf” in particular for the Patriots thanked. “Each significant strengthening of our air defense means thousands of lives saved”, so Selenskij at the weekend.
Of course, things look much more modest when it comes to the necessary supplies for the Ukrainian summer offensive, which is progressing slowly or is stuck, depending on the front section. Since the beginning of the offensive, Ukraine has advanced by up to around 18 kilometers in several places in the south, which the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) considers “tactically important”. So far, however, there have been no major breakthroughs or successes – which, according to leading experts, is mainly due to the fact that Western weapons were delivered much too late or not at all.
Early 2023 might have been a better time to go on the offensive
Jack Watling from the English military research institute Rusi criticizes that the need for a Ukrainian offensive was already clear in April 2022; From July 2022 it had become clear which weapons and equipment the Western Allies would have to supply. However, the corresponding decisions were only made in January 2023 – and the corresponding weapons were only delivered months later. With devastating consequences.
According to Watling, who regularly conducts research in frontline areas of Ukraine, Russia’s troops were extremely vulnerable in early 2023, when Ukraine’s supreme commander, Valeriy Zalushny, originally planned the offensive to begin. It was not until March 2023 that Russia’s troops and engineers built “formidable defenses in the south”: trenches, minefields and other fortifications that are now causing problems for Ukraine. “The Ukrainian offensive may still be successful, but its price has risen sharply because of western lethargy,” Watling said last week.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin officially saw the chances of a Ukrainian offensive as very positive. In fact, in February 2023, Pentagon experts found in secret studies that Ukraine neither enough equipment soldiers still got to Russian-occupied territory to liberate on a large scale.
An appearance by the head of the British armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, who works closely with the Americans and Ukrainians, suggests that nothing fundamentally changed. On July 4, Radakin admitted in the British Parliament’s Defense Committee that Ukraine’s offensive against “very effective defense lines” held by the Russians was being hampered by a “lack of air cover,” i.e. modern fighter planes à la f–16. “The Ukrainians didn’t get all the equipment they wanted and we are seeing the consequences of that… What Ukraine needs is additional equipment,” the British military chief said.
According to the secretary of its National Security Council, Ukraine lacks not only combat aircraft but also deminers and long-range cruise missiles like the German one Taurus, drones and above all ammunition. In the first modern drone war, Russia has “a 5:1 numerical superiority,” he said Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov in early August. Germany, for example, has 88 in Ukraine Vector-Reconnaissance drones provided; the armaments group Rheinmetall now wants Ukraine too Luna– Deliver recon drones. However, Ukraine loses one According to the May 19 Rusi report around 10,000 drones every month.
Equally pressing is Ukraine’s continuing shortage of artillery ammunition for 122, 152 and 155 millimeter projectiles. According to Danilov, Ukraine uses at least 90,000 grenades of the 155-millimeter type alone every month – but the main supplier, the USA, only produces 24,000 pieces a month, according to Danilov. Meanwhile, countries like Bulgaria have already supplied Ukraine with 155mm shells, paid for by the US. The Financial Times Washington is said to have signed corresponding contracts with South Korea and is negotiating with Japan.