“Weapons, weapons, weapons”, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba had demanded, and the weapons are coming, ever heavier, ever more “offensive”, even if they serve to “defend” Ukraine from the Russian invasion and the threatened massive attack on the Donbass. And President Biden confirms he can travel to Kyiv in person as a show of American support after news spread of a “senior” US official being sent. The military aid package just announced by the White House is worth $750 million, but since the invasion, the US has already given Ukraine $1.7 billion in security aid.
The amenities
According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, the equipment that will arrive in “seven days” will include 18 155mm howitzers, 40,000 artillery shells, AN / TPQ36 and 64 Sentinel air surveillance radar systems, Claymore M18A1 antipersonnel mines and then include funds for the Transport of the soldiers who were to be moved eastsouth to withstand the impact: 100 Humvee armored vehicles, as we are used to from the images of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 200 M113 armored vehicles designed in the mid1950s, capable of picking up an armored infantry squad to deliver closerange fire, and the Sovietmade Mi17 export transport helicopters, very popular and reliable, capable of transporting 30 soldiers or 12 stretchers in the “military ambulance”. Execution. Five Mi17s had already been deployed in early 2022, “veterans and veterans” of the Afghan war. Biden did not say if the helicopters will depart from the United States or if the Americans will help resettle them from Eastern Europe and replace them with new planes. It is the replacement mechanism that allowed Slovakia to send the Sovietera S300 air defense system to Ukraine, with the arrival of the more modern Patriot system in its place. The United States similarly supported the relocation of Russian T72 tanks.
The means
The advantage of equipping Ukrainians with Soviet or Russian vehicles is that they already know how to use them, while all others (especially drones) require several days of training, either in Ukraine or in neighboring countries or even in the USA USA as vented by the Pentagon. Finally, the pack includes the oftendisruptive armament represented by light gadgets: shouldertoairtosurfacetoair stingers and indeed switchblade “kamikaze” drones (300 in the last expedition) capable of targeting for a quarter of a minute before plunging down and hitting her with an explosion. The problem is that the Russians, for their part, have electronic “blind” systems to disorient the drones and smash them to the ground.
Germany
In Germany, too, the pressure to send heavy weapons, including tanks, is increasing, according to MarieAgnes StrackZimmermann, President of the Bundestag’s Defense Commission: “Russia wants Ukraine to disappear from the map, we can’t just stay watchful.” A stop for Westerners comes from Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, for whom “legitimate military targets of Russian forces are vehicles carrying US and NATO weapons entering Ukraine,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan responded immediately: “The United States does not operate on the territory of Ukraine. So if the Russians hit the NATO area where the material is collected, Article 5 of the treaty and it would be completely game changer”. States in the event of an attack on one of them “There is a risk of escalation” Meanwhile, the Pentagon has just yesterday met with eight major arms manufacturers in the United States, including Lockheed (tank Javelin) and Raytheon (antiaircraft Stinger). For Gianandrea Gaiani, director of Defense Analysis magazine, it would be indirect evidence that “the Kyiv government has lost most of its armored vehicles and vehicles” and that the Biden administration has a different goal than that of the Europeans, “their interest a speedy conclusion to the war would be desirable » The qualitative leap for the Ukrainians would be represented by the arrival of American howitzers and guns, with the launch of ad hoc production lines for the war in Ukraine, contributing to the “safe use” of the Eastern European countries Meanwhile, traditionally “neutral” Ireland has pledged €33 million in military aid, and Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang has denied that Russian Defense Minister Shoigu went to North Korea to solicit missiles and other military aid.
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