nato military equipment

Nato Military Equipment - Ukrainian soldiers derail a military aid shipment as part of U.S. security assistance at Ukraine's Boryspil airport outside Kyiv on February 11. Efrem Lukatsky / AP File

The relative success of Ukrainian forces in curbing Russia's sabotage campaign and aggression in Ukraine has forced the United States and other NATO governments to consider providing military aid to Kyiv at a level never imagined by Western leaders. was

Nato Military Equipment

However, it is not clear whether the US and other NATO members can maintain current levels of arms distribution.

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The White House said it was moving "quickly" to get weapons out of the hands of Ukrainians fighting Russian troops, and that U.S. officials were working with NATO allies to continue sending arms to Ukraine. Working for

Since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, US cargo planes have carried hundreds of Stingers, thousands of anti-tank weapons, millions of rounds of ammunition and other supplies, according to the White House. Eastern Europe has been handed over after President Joe Biden recently approved more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in less than a week.

Ukrainian service members unload anti-tank Javelin anti-tank missiles distributed as part of a U.S. military aid package to Ukraine at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv on February 10. Valentin Ogerenko/Reuters

But those commitments risk disrupting existing supplies of some bombs, according to John Schuss of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

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Under a recent decision, the U.S. will send about 4,600 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, the White House said. That would be more than half of the 8,885 javelins the Defense Department has purchased over the past 10 years, Schaus said.

Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, warned last week that its current arms supply would soon run out as its forces were rapidly burning through supplies. Canada has said it will buy military equipment to send to Ukraine because it cannot take more of its supply without compromising its own defense needs.

In Washington, lawmakers from both parties expressed concern that the Biden administration has yet to come up with a plan for how it will replenish the stockpile of weapons delivered to Ukraine. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington, and front-runner Mike Rogers of Alabama recently wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demanding an explanation from the Pentagon for replacing the Stingers sent to Ukraine. How does one intend to increase production?

Now parliamentarians and officials in Kyiv are pushing for a more ambitious approach that would help Russian forces return to Russia rather than wipe them out, a goal that would require a comprehensive weapons and strategic plan. A ban is required. Long term for open war.

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Bipartisan lawmakers, including senators who toured Eastern Europe this week, are urging the administration to focus its efforts on helping Ukraine win a landslide victory over Russia.

"The U.S. mission in Ukraine must go beyond simply ensuring that the country has the means to defend itself against Russian aggression," a bipartisan letter from 25 lawmakers said. "The strategy is to provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons to defend itself against advancing Russian forces and to give the Ukrainian people a chance to win this war," the lawmaker wrote in a letter Tuesday.

A Ukrainian soldier demonstrates firing an M141 Bunker Defeat during a weapons exercise in Lviv on February 4. Pavlo Palamarchuk / SOPA Images / Light Rocket via Getty Files

Ben Hodges, a retired U.S. Army general who served in Afghanistan and oversees the European Union, said the administration should shift its focus to Ukraine and provide more weapons capable of shooting down Russian missiles and warships. need of

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"There is no sense of urgency to help the Ukrainian people. It seems like we give them enough to keep them from losing, but not enough to help them win," Hodges said.

US lawmakers also demanded a full accounting of the weapons shipped to Ukraine so far and what remains in US and European stockpiles.

Critics, including Republican lawmakers, former U.S. diplomats and Ukrainian military and officials, say the Biden administration has taken an overly cautious approach to aid to Ukraine, and to arms supplies. Reluctant to go forward. . - to avoid provoking a strong reaction from Moscow. He says the administration should push back on almost every major step taken in the past to help Ukraine.

Despite calls from Ukraine and lawmakers, the administration did not approve U.S. exports of Stingers, or armed "kamikaze" drones, until the Russian offensive began in February. A significant number of Javelin anti-tank weapons did not begin to flow until January.

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As of Wednesday, the administration's approved "kamikaze" switchblade mini-drones had not been delivered, according to the Pentagon. The administration's weapons package does not approve a larger, more powerful version of the Switchblade drone.

The administration initially chose not to share intelligence with Ukraine, but relented after parliamentary criticism.

Members of the U.S. Air Force load military equipment and cargo onto a transport plane at Yokota Air Force Base on March 16 in Tokyo. Nanako Sodo / The Yumiuri Shimbun by AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused NATO of being at odds over aid as Russian shells and missiles hit Ukrainian cities.

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Despite repeated public appeals by Zelenskiy, the White House has been opposed to helping Poland or any other country provide Ukraine with Soviet-era fighter jets, saying they have limited access and There is a risk of capacity building. Tensions with Moscow. Ukrainian pilots disagreed, saying in an interview that their fighters were undermining Russian airstrikes, but that they were overcrowded and needed more planes and better radar.

Ukraine has also proposed a more advanced S-300 air defense system that can target aircraft at high altitudes, but Eastern European countries say they are not ready to send it to Ukraine until they get it. It will be replaced by the US or other NATO states. US officials say the matter is still under discussion.

Rogers, a Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the Biden administration "has been slow to send serious aid to Ukraine."

"The Biden White House should be troubled by the knowledge of the impact that US stingers, javelins, switchblades and more air defense systems would have had if they had been attacked first," Rogers said in an email. said

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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, defended the administration, saying it was "rapidly devolving" into a situation in which the U.S. openly opened fire on hostile forces. Is. To fight the Russians. He said that even during the Cold War, America did not provide excessive weapons to Moscow's enemies.

"There is no single country in the world that has done more for Ukraine than the United States, even though we are on the other side of the world," Murphy said.

"There are few signs that the administration is stepping off the accelerator to send a message to Putin," Murphy said.

Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who before the invasion urged the administration to make more drastic changes in arming and arming Ukraine, said current efforts to send arms to Ukraine "could end." Adequate, but far from what it should do. be"

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The administration has denied accusations that it was being too slow or that Ukraine was not getting the weapons it needed. It also points to military training carried out by the US and other allies over the past few years that is now bearing fruit on the battlefield.

"The sacrificial general continues to look for some of the magic weapons that make a difference when you look at them as the real difference makers -- the thousands of weapons we've already provided that stop the people of Ukraine. A U.S. official who was not authorized to comment on the note, said: "Send the Russians to retreat and that will ultimately lead to Putin's defeat."

Mark Polimero-Poulos, who was once in charge of the CIA's covert operations in Russia and Europe, said it was wrong to give Ukraine everything it asked for.

"Instead, we should provide them with what they need based on the needs of professional CIA and special operations officers, who are believed to be superior to their Ukrainian counterparts," he said. Keep in regular contact."

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Mr. Polimeropoulos said the Biden administration's caution has been "disappointing" at times, especially amid reports of debate in the White House's National Security Council over legal objections to the actions.

"It's always bad to see how the sausage is made, but it tastes good in the end," he said. “Initially, the administration was very cautious about the concerns that were not based on the increase, but the pressure of the mountains and especially after the events.