Ukraine’s defense minister has urged the US and other international partners to continue sending state-of-the-art weapons to the war-torn country, calling the battlefields a valuable “testing ground” for new weapons.
Oleksii Reznikov said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s resolute defense against the ongoing Russian invasion has shown that Kiev’s armed forces are capable of handling the most modern and devastating weapons NATO countries have to offer.
These include the US-made HIMARS rocket artillery system, which is partially credited with stabilizing the front line to the east and south in recent weeks, Reznikov said.
“Ukraine is now essentially a testing ground,” Reznikov said at an online Atlantic Council event. “Many weapons are now being tested in the field in real combat conditions against the Russian army, which has many of its own warning systems.”
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attends a meeting with members of a Ukrainian security advisory group at the U.S. Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, April 26, 2022. ANDRE PAIN/AFP via Getty Images
Kyiv shares details on Russian electronic warfare, signals intelligence, air defense, missile technology and more with its international partners, Reznikov said.
“We share all information and experience with our partners,” he explained. “We are interested in testing modern systems in combat against the enemy, and we invite weapon manufacturers to test new products here.”
Reznikov noted the significant deployment of American, French and Polish artillery pieces, as well as Turkish drones, among other foreign-made systems in Ukraine. “It’s a good opportunity to test their gear,” he added.
“Give us the tools, we’ll do the work, you get new information.”
To complete the work, Reznikov said Ukraine needs a wide range of new weapons systems. Air and missile defense systems are needed to repel Russia’s devastating missile attacks across the country, while more long-range artillery, aircraft, tanks, and other vehicles are needed to fuel counteroffensives.
More anti-ship missiles, the minister added, would help harass Russian warships in the Black Sea and reopen sea routes to transport Ukrainian grain and other export goods.
Western long-range high-precision artillery helped slow the Russian advance in the eastern Donbass region and destroyed key logistics and command centers, Reznikov said.
Now more are needed to drive out the occupiers, he added. “We need them fast, because wherever we stop the enemy, they start digging in… This will increase our losses during counter-offensives,” Reznikov said.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.
With Russia’s eastern offensive slowing, attention is now turning to southern Kherson Oblast, where Ukrainian troops are preparing the ground for a major counteroffensive.
“The Kremlin does not control southern Ukraine, we will definitely liberate it,” Reznikov said. “But we must collect more weapons.”
The eight HIMARS deployed to Ukraine so far have been particularly helpful, Reznikov said. The US has already committed to sending four more, with Pentagon spokesman John Kirby saying Tuesday Kyiv would receive an unspecified number of additional systems.
A Ukrainian lieutenant holds a Parrot drone during a training session on the outskirts of Kyiv on July 14, 2022. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine is now a “testing ground” for all kinds of new military technologies. IONUT IORDACHESCU/AFP via Getty Images
“We use HIMARS systems just like a surgeon’s scalpel,” said Reznikov. “We will not use the Russian ‘meat grinder’ strategy.”
Ukraine needs at least 15 HIMARS to stabilize current front lines, the defense minister said, and at least 100 to “change the game on the battlefield” and support successful counter-offensives.
Ukraine has so far only been supplied with HIMARS ammunition with a range of 50 miles. The US has held back the more advanced missiles, with ranges between 90 and 180 miles, over fears of later escalation by Russia.
“Long-range systems would allow us to completely destroy their logistics and quickly cut off the Russian army from its support,” Reznikov said. He added that after the recent dramatic strikes against Russian depots in the south and east, occupation units are moving their logistics and command centers further from the front lines.
The Secretary of Defense hinted that the US could eventually come to provide the full range of HIMARS ammunition. “I remain optimistic,” said Reznikov. “To me, the word ‘impossible’ means ‘possible in the future.'”