A day before a crucial meeting in Germany to map out the next steps in defending Ukraine, Kiev’s allies on Thursday made it clear that they were ready to provide large amounts of military aid to help the country. against Russian aggression.
Armored vehicles, missiles and missiles, artillery shells and air defense systems are just part of an aid package expected to total billions of dollars as officials from about 50 countries reach final agreement on Friday.
Admiral Rob Bauer of the Netherlands, chairman of NATO’s top military committee, said: “In a war like this, every kind of equipment is needed.
Even before they began to gather at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, countries appeared to have come up with views on how to best respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as it neared its anniversary. firstly.
US officials say they plan to send nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles as part of an estimated $2.5 billion worth of weapons and equipment shipments. And after the British and Estonian defense ministers held a meeting for military officials from the Baltics and Central Europe at a military base in Estonia, they also began detailing their plans.
Estonia says it will send its largest-ever military aid package to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and remote fire as well as ammunition, worth a total of 113 million euros, or about 122 million dollars. Britain reiterated its commitment to send Challenger 2 tanks and also said it would deliver 600 Brimstone missiles.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said: “The free world must continue to provide arms to Ukraine on a much greater scale and speed.” “All countries must look at their stockpiles and make sure that industries can produce more and faster.”
Countries that signed a pledge of support after the meeting, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia, said in a joint statement that they have committed to “jointly pursue the delivery of an unprecedented range of donations” to support Ukraine.
But the big question remains: Will Berlin finally agree to send advanced German-made battle tanks to Ukraine? Or at least allow other countries to have them do the same?
Ukraine and some of its allies have put pressure on Germany to supply or allow exports of advanced Leopard 2 tanks, but there have been conflicting reports on what Berlin might do.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that Germany, still recovering from a post-World War II aversion to a strong military, will not “go it alone”. That means when it comes to Leopards, German officials said this week, Berlin will not send any from its inventory unless the US sends its M1 Abrams tanks as well – a step Washington has seems very reluctant to do.
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh, said on Thursday that it “makes no sense” to supply Ukraine with Abrams tanks “at this time” because they use jet fuel and are difficult to maintain. She said that the Germans will have to decide for themselves about Leopard 2.
“In the end, this is the decision of Germany,” Ms. Singh said.
Some officials think that Germany may eventually allow other countries that bought Leopard to send them to Ukraine.
On the eve of the meeting in Ramstein, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a plea for more weapons but said their purchase was beyond his control.
“We apply political pressure as best we can, but the most important thing is that we apply reasonable pressure,” Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv, according to the newspaper. Ukrinform News Agency. “Confronted with thousands of tanks available to the Russian Federation, the courage of our troops and the motivation of the Ukrainian people are not enough.”
William J. Burns, the director of the CIA, traveled to Kiev last week for secret consultations with Mr. Zelensky, according to a US official. Since shortly before the invasion, Mr. Burns had made periodic visits to Ukraine to meet with intelligence officials and pass information on to Mr. Zelensky.
Western officials, worried that Ukraine may have only a narrow window of time before the spring attacks are expected to begin, have been working to speed up delivery of heavy, sophisticated weapons to Kyiv.
Colin H. Kahl, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, told reporters this week: “The Russians are really getting involved. “They are digging trenches. They are planting these dragons, planting mines.”
Ukraine needs more armored vehicles and motorized infantry to break through Russia’s fortified defenses, he said.
“In order to allow the Ukrainians to penetrate Russian defenses, the focus has been shifted to allowing them to combine firepower and mobility in a way that will prove more effective,” Kahl said.
After the NATO meeting in Brussels, Admiral Bauer of the Netherlands and the supreme commander of the ally in Europe, General Christopher G. Cavoli of the United States, said that quality tanks are very important to Ukraine as a part. of what they call “the balance of all systems.”
“There is no specific weapon system that is a silver bullet,” General Cavoli said. “Ultimately, attacking is simply striking a balance between firepower, mobility, and protection.”
Besides The Strykersmedium armored vehicle, eight wheels can carry troops and weapons, the package that the United States plans to announce will include additional Bradley fighting vehicles, ammunition for HIMARS rocket artillery, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, assorted. ammunition other than vehicles and air defense systems, a US official said on Thursday.
Officials say the Bradleys will be particularly useful to Ukrainian units fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
On Thursday, in an eastern village, Klishchiivka, conflicting reports emerged about which side was in control.
The head of Russia’s private army, Wagner, has announced that the group’s fighters have captured Klishchiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold southwest of the key city of Bakhmut. But the Ukrainian army speak early Thursday that it had repelled Russian attacks against Klishchiivka in the previous 24 hours.
Bakhmut has been the focus of Russian attacks in recent months as Russia continues its efforts to capture the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. The city has also become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Ukrainian forces have seen Klishchiivka as key to defending Bakhmut as it is located on high ground just east of roads into the city heavily used by the Ukrainian military.
“The Russians are attacking everywhere,” said a soldier who fought for Ukraine and was stationed in Bakhmut, who asked to be identified by his military badge, Mongo.
Julian E. Barnes contribution report.
