All of Ukraine’s allies realize that the country needs heavy weapons to repel Russian troops. Tanks and armored fighting vehicles, artillery, fighters and helicopters are currently in demand mainly, and lesser combat ships.
There is currently a problem with concrete implementation, especially in Germany. The SPD insists on the position of providing Ukraine with money for the purchase of weapons. However, direct deliveries of weapons are not possible as Bundeswehr stocks are depleted. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is unclear whether he wants Germany to deliver heavy weapons in principle. And if not, why is it so.
In the short term, the Ukrainian army must be helped mainly by weapons of Soviet design, which are still standard there. This eliminates the need for long training sessions and spare parts problems. This means that the former Warsaw Pact countries are primarily regarded as suppliers. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock proposes an “exchange of rings”: if countries deliver Soviet weapons to Ukraine, the Federal Republic will fill the missing stockpiles with new weapons systems.
Weapons provided when others only offered helmets
Baerbock deposited this idea during a visit to the Baltic States. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania belong to the EU and NATO and border the heart of Russia or the exclave of Kaliningrad. Despite its geographic proximity to Russia, there are no debates like Germany’s over whether the delivery of heavy weapons means the country is becoming part of the war – which German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann has now denied. The Balts supply Ukraine as best and as quickly as possible. Estonia delivered anti-tank missiles even before the start of the war on 24 February. At the time, Germany only offered 5,000 helmets.
In terms of the value of weapons delivered or promised, Estonia is even second in the world, surpassed only by the US. This is the result of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s “Ukraine Support Tracker”. However, their data currently only extends from the beginning of the war to the end of March. Cross-country comparisons on arms deliveries are also difficult, as many states only provide very vague information about their support for Ukraine, so as not to give Russia an information advantage.
The Czech Republic as a pioneer in tank deliveries
Not so in the case of the Czech Republic: the government of conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala was one of the first countries to also supply heavy main battle tanks to Ukraine. Several dozen Soviet armored vehicles type T-72 and BMP-1 have already been transferred by freight train, as reported by the Czech media. T-72 tanks were also produced under license in the former Czechoslovakia during the Eastern Bloc era. The Czech Republic had recently stockpiled around 90 copies of an older, unmodernized version that the Ukrainian army is familiar with.
In addition, the armaments say that Czechoslovakia will repair Ukrainian tanks and other military vehicles at its factories. Minor problems or damage would be repaired in Ukraine itself, according to the Ministry of Defense in Prague.
In addition to the Czech Republic, NATO countries Slovakia and Poland are also providing military support to Ukraine in the vicinity of Austria. Slovakia has delivered its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, apparently already in use. According to the government of Bratislava, the rockets are used exclusively for the self-defense of a neighboring country that has been attacked. Slovakia could also sell wheeled howitzers to Ukraine, and there is also speculation about the transfer of Slovak MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Poland provides military hospitals
The transport is said to have taken two days – such maneuvers are often risky because there is always a risk that the cargo will be discovered and destroyed by Russian fighter jets.
The general procedure is for US transport planes to take the weapons to Poland, where they are loaded onto trucks. Then it’s for Ukraine.
Poland is also supplying weapons, but it is also willing to play the role of a hospital for wounded Ukrainian soldiers. The number of war casualties is already high – there is talk of 10,000 wounded – and will continue to rise in the coming weeks due to the ongoing Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. “We are doing everything possible to receive and treat all wounded soldiers in Ukraine,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “Several dozen” of soldiers are already being treated, Poland would be ready to receive more than 10,000.
In early April, NATO decided to massively help Ukraine with heavy weapons. In Washington and London, it is believed that superior firepower will decide battles on the flat terrain of eastern Ukraine. Most of the heavy equipment will be shipped from the US and UK, including armored vehicles, Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, ship attack missiles and “precision guided munitions”. So it must be improvised on a case-by-case basis. It wants to check whether rockets, which are usually fired from fighter jets, can also be mounted on vehicles in the case of Ukraine.
According to the US, the Ukrainians received fighter jets
According to US information, the Ukrainians also received fighter jets and spare parts. How many, which and from where was not explained further on Wednesday.
The United States wants to train the Ukrainian military outside the country on how to use the howitzers provided. The training will begin in the near future, according to Washington, is a “coach training program” in which Ukrainian coaches will be trained by the US.
Austria’s contribution consists of protective vests, helmets, ambulances and gasoline.