Former NATO commander in Europe: the West does not provide enough assistance to Ukraine
He said that the provision of weapons is very scarce compared to the real needs
The former deputy supreme allied commander for NATO's European Command said that Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut have achieved a strategic success in this area, forcing the Russians to spend a huge amount of their manpower and equipment there.
Source. General Richard Shirreff said this in an interview with the BBC.
"If the Russians do take the city, it will probably be a Pyrrhic victory for them," he said.
Speaking on the Today program, he also called for speeding up the process of providing weapons and other assistance to Ukraine.
"So far, we have seen a kind of small, step-by-step deliveries from the West and NATO countries. They are of a drip nature, instead of acting in a concentrated manner. If everything that was required many months ago had been delivered, we probably would not be in the situation we are in now," said Shirreff.
According to the general, this creates an urgent need to accelerate the pace of delivery, integration, logistical support, training of the Ukrainian army and everything else that is needed to provide Ukrainians with the tools they need to do their job.
Over the past year, both Kyiv officials and independent experts have repeatedly stated that the arms supplies to Ukraine from Western countries are carefully measured and cannot be compared to the resources of the aggressor country.
The Ukrainian side had high hopes for the law on the land-lease for Ukraine passed by the US Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last May, which would allow it to receive the necessary military equipment in unlimited quantities. However, to date, this supply channel has not been utilized.
Background. As a reminder, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov asked the EU countries to increase the supply of ammunition to 250,000 artillery shells per month. According to the Financial Times, this request far exceeds the aid package for Ukraine currently being discussed in Europe.
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