Delivery began on April 28.
US assistance to Ukraine, illustrative photo
On April 28, Ukraine received the first batch of the new 61 -billion package: we are talking about anti-tank missiles and 155-mm artillery shells, writes The New York Times.
The second batch of weapons and ammunition arrived on April 29. Patriot missiles arrived in Poland on April 30.
Over the past week, many planes, trains and trucks carrying ammunition and other weapons systems have arrived at NATO depots in Europe.
Although US President Joe Biden has promised to control the speed of delivery of benefits, in practice this is not so easy to implement. It will take months for weapons to reach Ukraine in sufficient quantities.
“The Russian army is now trying to take advantage of the situation while we are waiting for supplies from our partners, primarily the United States,” President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The head of state then added that “some deliveries have already been made,” but added that “we have not received everything necessary to equip our brigades.”
Some new weapons started arriving even before they were announced. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said that part of the $620 million in aid announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on April 23 began arriving several weeks ago.
Additional batches of Storm Shadow missiles could, however, take the same amount of time to arrive. few weeks.
Senior U.S. and other Western officials agreed that artillery, air defense systems and ammunition were Ukraine's most pressing needs and could be flown more quickly to warehouses by military aircraft and then sent across the border on trains or trucks.
According to representatives. Ministry of Defense, the pace accelerated at Rzeszow-Jasenko Airport, in southeastern Poland about 50 miles from the border with Ukraine.
The publication notes that deliveries could be accelerated if ammunition has already been stockpiled in Central and Eastern Europe, where the United States and other allies keep reserves. Logistics specialists at the U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, can take just a few days to coordinate the delivery of the most needed weapons.
Combat vehicles, boats, guns, missile launchers and systems all need more time to transport Air defense due to their size. Therefore, they have to be transported by sea and carefully guarded trains.
One of the NYT interlocutors added that most of the large weapons and even some ammunition will be delivered from the United States in early summer or even later.
Another difficulty is that not all promised weapons are quickly available. In particular, it takes time to figure out what weapons/weapons can be transferred to Ukraine without depleting NATO units that should be in a state of combat readiness.
In addition, Ukrainian troops need to undergo training to master certain types weapons such as Patriot. The new system will arrive in Ukraine no earlier than the end of June. This delivery may coincide with the arrival of F-16 fighters.
While Ukraine struggles to hold onto territory, U.S. officials believe Russia will continue to attack and exploit the advantages it has now before Kyiv receives reinforcements from its partners.
The other day, the White House announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already begun to receive military assistance from the United States and are using it primarily to strengthen the defense positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield. How new weapons will be used in the future will be decided by the Ukrainian side.
