WP: Ukraine pays with losses for slow arms deliveries by the West

March 24 2023 1

Ukraine is being held back by slow Western arms shipments and is paying the price with losses. Time is now on Russia's side, writes the Washington Post.

Kyiv does not have such an advantage, the opinion of Rachel Rizzo, an analyst at the Atlantic Council, is given in the article. And if weapons are not delivered to Ukraine quickly enough, it will be extremely difficult for it to “repulse” the enemy.

Obviously, time is on Russia's side, which means that she has soldiers and techniqueto wage a long war on a huge front. Kyiv does not have such an advantage

- says a Western expert.

Many key items on Kyiv's weapons wish list remain unfulfilled, despite recent promises from the West. For example, these are F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles.

Aid promised by Western countries is "arriving for too long," the article says. And the advancement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is held back by these slow deliveries. While both sides are gearing up for a springtime phase of hostilities that could "change the course of the conflict," Kyiv is "still" short on weapons.

The Abrams tanks promised by the United States will arrive only closer to the fall, this will be after the hypothetical counter-offensive of the Ukrainian troops. And some U.S. and allied officials and diplomats are already admitting that the West's arms strategy has cost Ukraine "too much."

Defenders of a phased supply strategy say the West has done its best to avoid direct conflict with Russia, although this approach has undoubtedly cost Ukraine heavy losses.

- concludes the publication.

Formerly Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the country Vadim Skibitsky saidthat the Russian army will be able to fight for another two years. The high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence officer did not hide the fact that this forecast was not the result of his analysis.