Half of arms from West delivered late – Ukraine
– Half of Western military aid to Kyiv is delivered later than promised, delays that hobble its ability to defend itself against Russian attacks, and cost Ukrainian lives, the country’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said yesterday.
Ukraine, which is struggling with an ammunition shortage, has for months said Western aid is too slow to reach it and that the hold-ups have real consequences as the war enters its third year.
“At the moment, commitment does not constitute delivery,” Umerov said during a forum dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. “Fifty percent of commitments are not delivered on time.”
Europe has admitted it will fall far short of a plan to deliver more than one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March, instead hoping to complete the shipments by the end of the year.
Umerov said such delays put Ukraine at a further disadvantage “in the mathematics of war” against Russia, which the West has said is increasingly building a war economy.
Umerov said delayed aid will mean Kyiv will “lose people, lose territories”, especially given Russia’s “air superiority”.
He added: “We do everything possible and impossible but without timely supply it harms us.”
Kyiv has in recent weeks been weakened by an ammunition shortage, with a vital $60 billion (about R1.1 trillion) US aid package blocked by political wrangling in the US Congress.
US President Joe Biden said the hold-ups directly contributed to Ukraine being forced to withdraw from the frontline town of Avdiivka earlier this month – handing Russia its first territorial gain in almost a year.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said yesterday he was “deeply convinced that the US will not abandon Ukraine in terms of financial, military and armed support”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had pressed G7 leaders on Saturday to ensure the fast delivery of weapons.
The Ukrainian leader sought to rouse the country’s military and political backers on the twoyear anniversary of Russia’s invasion, telling the G7 leaders: “Putin can lose this war” and “we will win”. –