Ukraine still lacks weapons for a successful counteroffensive - Foreign Policy

Ukraine has postponed its counteroffensive indefinitely due to a lack of weapons.

Source. This was reported by Foreign Policy with reference to MP Oleksandra Ustinova.

According to her, Kyiv had hoped to launch the operation in April, but the United States provided "much less" than what the Pentagon had asked for from the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny. Military aid is coming in "in bits and pieces," and President Joe Biden's administration is nearing the end of funding for weapons it can transfer from Pentagon stockpiles.

Ustinova noted that Ukraine only has enough air defense equipment to cover a few cities. The Hawk medium-range missile systems supplied by Washington were discontinued by the US army in the 1990s, so they arrived in Ukraine without radar.

The country has received modern German Leopard 2 tanks, but Kyiv fears that this is not enough. In addition, they fire different shells because they were delivered from eight countries, which means that Ukrainians cannot buy ammunition in bulk. As for the American Abrams tanks, they will arrive in Kyiv in a few months.

In late March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would not launch a new counteroffensive until Western countries send more weapons, including artillery, tanks, and multiple launch rocket systems.

"Without this, we cannot send our brave soldiers to the front line," he said, also pointing to a serious shortage of ammunition.

In leaked Pentagon documents, the date of the counteroffensive was April 30. For this purpose, Kyiv was going to use 12 brigades, 9 of which were trained in the West. Another 9 assault brigades were formed by the Ukrainian National Guard. Each unit has between 5,000 and 7,000 soldiers. Thus, more than 100,000 people could be involved in a counteroffensive.

The leak also stated that, according to the US Department of Defense, Ukraine needs: 253 tanks, 381 mechanized vehicles, 480 motorized vehicles, 147 artillery pieces and 571 specialized Humvee armored vehicles.

Background. As reported, the day before, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would be able to liberate more territory during the counteroffensive.