– Every day with a delay, we talk about life, says Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar and begs for progress in arms deliveries from the West.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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It is “extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces”, the British Ministry of Defense concluded in its morning report on Thursday.
While the Russians are gaining ground in eastern Ukraine, the war-torn country has only a tenth of the weapons they need, says Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar to the newspaper Hromadske.
Now it is urgent to get more in place, she says.
– We can not wait too long, because the situation is very difficult. No matter how professional our defense is. Without the help of our partners in the west, we will not be able to win this war, says the Deputy Minister of Defense to the newspaper.
–The clock is ticking
Western countries should send Ukraine heavier weapons so that they can fight the Russian offensive in the east of the country, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday night.
He also said that NATO had already begun to step up supplies.
On Wednesday, officials met in Brussels to coordinate further military support, including the supply of heavy weapons.
Without fast delivery, Ukraine does not have a chance against Russia, says defense researcher Tor Bukkvoll at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI).
– Now almost everything depends on how fast Western weapons reach the Ukrainians. Ukraine will not be able to stop Russia without, says Bukkvoll to VG.
66,000 tons of weapons
Ukraine’s Western allies have already assisted in the delivery of about $ 8 billion worth of weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian forces, according to BBC.
The British broadcaster has visited the headquarters in Stuttgart, where military personnel from 26 countries are working to coordinate arms shipments to Ukraine.
A total of 66,000 tonnes of weapons have already been delivered, equivalent to 5,000 double-decker buses, says a British official at the center to BBC.
Every morning at Stuttgart Central, a Ukrainian general tells us exactly what the country needs. Then the employees do what they can to find a country that is willing to give up what is needed.
–” Years”
In Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Maliar believes that there should be a clear time frame for the delivery of more weapons.
“Every day with a delay, we talk about the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians,” she said Newsweek.
The Ukrainians had expected to be able to use the large shipment of weapons from the USA in June, but now Ukrainian commentators are talking about delays of at least a month, defense researcher Bukkvoll explains to VG.
From the International Coordination Center in Stuttgart, the message is quite different from that of the Ukrainian authorities.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not going to run out of ammunition,” Admiral Duke Heinz from the US military told the BBC.
Despite optimism from the coordination center in Germany, there are apparently few who think this war is over immediately. British Brigadier Chris King openly answers the question from the British broadcaster.
– It’s not about months. I think we’ll be here for several years.
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