Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the war with Russia as an artillery war. On German broadcaster ARD’s “Anne Will” program, Kuleba also said Sunday night that Russian troops had a 15:1 superiority in artillery weapons. That’s why Ukraine urgently needs weapons like artillery systems, anti-aircraft devices and missile systems here.
The sooner the weapons arrive, the greater the help and the fewer people will die. He hopes Germany can and will do more when it comes to arms deliveries.
Even in the event of an end to Western arms supplies, Ukraine would continue to fight Russia. “If we don’t get weapons, fine, we will fight with shovels, but we will defend ourselves because this war is a war for our existence,” said the Ukrainian foreign minister. “So the sooner we get the weapons, the sooner they are sent, the more help will be for us. If the weapons are sent later, we will still say ‘thank you’, but a lot will be wasted, a lot of people will have died.”
Significantly fewer weapons than Russia
Kuleba stressed that no one in the West should believe that Ukraine would be more willing to make concessions without arms deliveries. He added: “The later they send us the weapons, the more people will die sooner and the more people will fall victim to Russian atrocities and the more Ukrainian territory will be conquered by the Russians.”
Kuleba said his country has significantly fewer weapons than Russia. “We cannot win the war with such an imbalance.” In recent days, the Russians have fired 1,000 rockets at targets in Ukraine alone. That’s why your country also needs air defense systems.
Australia sent armored cars
Meanwhile, Australia has sent the first four of 14 promised M113AS4 armored vehicles to Ukraine, according to the Defense Ministry. Defense Secretary Richard Marles said they were loaded onto a Ukrainian plane in Queensland last week. “Australia stands with Ukraine and once again asks Russia to end its unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine.” Combat vehicles are part of the comprehensive aid of more than 285 million Australian dollars (189.5 million euros).
Continuation of the battle for Sieverodonetsk
However, according to military experts at an American think tank, the superiority of Russian artillery is not enough to capture the administrative center of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. “Russia’s concentrated artillery capability, together with indisputably weakened infantry units, remains insufficient to make Russian advances into Sieverodonetsk,” read the latest analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Sunday night. Russian troops continued to fight for control of the city but made little progress on Sunday.
According to experts, it is likely that Russia will continue to try to encircle the ancient city and cut off supplies to the remaining Ukrainian forces, which are largely hidden in the Azot chemical plant. However, there is currently little progress on this project. In addition, Moscow is preparing an offensive in Sloviansk. The Sloviansk-Kramatorsk area is considered the center of Ukrainian defense forces in the Donbass region.
According to the ISW, Moscow itself is hampering the success of its invasion by continuing to speak of a “special military operation” rather than a war. This prevents Russia from mobilizing to generate more forces. Furthermore, the Kremlin lacks the legal means to punish soldiers who refuse to be mobilized.