Ukraine unveils “shopping list” of weapons it needs under NATO – “That’s a huge amount,” says researcher

NATO defense ministers will meet today and tomorrow in Brussels. NATO candidates Finland, Sweden, Georgia and Ukraine, as well as EU representatives, will also attend the working dinner.

During the meeting, Ukraine published a list of weapons and supplies it needed in the war.

This Ukrainian requirements are now known.

Adviser to the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine Myh’ailo Podoljak your tweet (switch to another service) on Monday a detailed list that would allow Ukraine to tighten Russia’s fire supremacy and repel the attack on eastern Ukraine.

Podolia’s list includes a thousand howitzers, 300 rocket launcher systems and 500 tanks.

– When you look at the list, it’s a huge amount of equipment that has been requested. In the short term, I do not think that Ukraine will receive the amounts on the list, says the chief teacher of the Department of Military Art, Lieutenant Colonel Jarmo Mattila From the National Defense College to by phone.

Ukraine estimates that the Russian fire superiority is overwhelming: Russia has 10 to 20 per Ukrainian cannon, and the Ukrainians have only a fraction of the ammunition used by the Russians. For this reason, the delay in arms deliveries will cost the lives of Ukrainians, writes Wall Street Journal (WSJ) (switch to another service) -magazine.

– In this war, the one with more and better weapons wins. And if Ukraine does not get enough weapons in time, it will run dry, says an adviser to the Interior Minister of Ukraine Anton Herachenko According to the WSJ.

According to US sources, the war of more than three months has consumed a large amount of ammunition and equipment from Ukraine or has been destroyed in the fighting, according to the news agency AFP.

Financial Times (switch to another service) According to the magazine, Ukrainians are now running out of basic ammunition suitable for Soviet-era weapons. There would be 155mm of ammunition, but not enough artillery to fire them.

There is also a shortage of heavy weapons with a longer range than traditional artillery.

The skilful use of artillery by the Ukrainians has helped keep the Russians under control, says the expert interviewed by the magazine.

The MPKK’s Mattila says that Ukraine will not be able to find a solution in the fighting, because the balance of power is very even right now. However, the equipment is worn on both sides all the time.

– Ukraine needs to have more and more equipment in order to be able to maintain the current balance of power, Mattila says.

The MPKK expert does not believe that Ukraine’s fire power is running out. Based on the course of the fighting, Ukraine has managed to stop the Russian invasion practically completely in Ukraine.

According to Mattila, the Russians are currently progressing slowly and will have to use a great deal of force to move forward.

Ukraine’s own army and armaments, formerly part of the Soviet Union, are largely built on Soviet and Russian standards.

These work very differently than in Western countries.

– Before the war, Ukraine had at its disposal mainly Soviet-made artillery and tanks. It has been easy to quickly introduce similar equipment received during the war as equipment support, Mattila says.

However, Ukraine already had some Western anti-aircraft missiles at its disposal before the war. Now the Ukrainians have been trained to use new weapons for them.

Even in the early days of the war, Western countries were afraid to send Western-made weapons to Ukraine. There were fears that Western weapons would fuel the conflict between NATO and Russia or that the Russians would take possession of sensitive technology, but in the end, most countries made the decision to support Ukraine armed.

Initially, the Allies offered weapons and equipment in accordance with Russian standards from their depots. Now the U.S. and NATO partners have announced plans to send heavy weapons, such as howitzers and rocket launchers, to Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Defense, an estimated 57.9 million euros worth of defense material has been sent from Finland to Ukraine, and according to the Ministry of the Interior, approximately 2.3 million worth of material aid has been sent.

According to Mattila, Ukraine is asking for military assistance specifically from the West because it wants to show its interest in Western integration. Part of the reason is certainly that Ukraine considers the weapons of the West to be of high quality and better performance than those of the Russians.

– Ukraine constantly needs more and more fiery equipment to survive the war. The equipment is also needed so that power relations could be turned in some areas even for the benefit of Ukraine, Mattila says.

Arms aid has arrived in Ukraine very slowly. One reason for this is that Ukraine’s allies also want to ensure that Ukraine is able to receive weapons safely, AFP writes.

For example, the United States is currently preparing to ship four HIMARS rocket launcher systems to Ukraine. Commander of the United States Armed Forces Mark Milley According to AFP last week, the training could take “several weeks”.

According to MPKK Mattila, it is natural that Ukraine wants a lot of weapons and quickly. There are challenges in deploying weapons: training personnel and transporting large quantities of heavy weapons and ammunition to battlefields.

– So now there are no quick fixes, Mattila says.

Russia describes Ukraine’s arms request to the West as unreasonable, says a Russian state-owned Russia Today (switch to another service). According to the media, it is very unlikely that the West will agree to Ukraine’s demands.

Mattila of the MPKK says that Ukraine is asking for weapons it has received from the West in the past. The West has expressed its intention to help Ukraine.

Arms aid to Ukraine will also be raised at the NATO meeting in Brussels, but a joint decision on arms aid to Ukraine will hardly be made, Mattila estimates.

– Activities are likely to be coordinated together. At least in general, Ukraine’s arms aid is on the agenda at a NATO meeting. It is difficult to say whether and how that list will be discussed.