West 'fails' to arm Ukraine's spring offensive
(Baonghean.vn) - The United States and its allies have failed to deliver tanks, artillery shells and other weapons that Ukraine needs for its spring offensive against Russia, the New York Times reported, citing leaked Pentagon documents.
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Illustration. Photo: AFP |
US military planners estimated that Kiev would need 253 tanks for the upcoming offensive, but only 200 had been assembled by the end of February. Of those, 140 were Soviet designs, while only 60 Western-made tanks were due to be delivered this April.
The West is struggling to deliver on its commitment to supply Ukraine with tanks, air defense systems, fighter jets and other weapons, the paper said, adding that the three Ukrainian brigades preparing for the offensive were short of “at least a dozen tanks each” as of February 28.
Washington is reportedly accelerating the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine as promised, but it is unlikely to be completed soon. About a dozen British Challenger 2 tanks have been delivered, while most of the German-made Leopard tanks are still being refurbished.
Kiev’s supply of 155mm artillery shells has dropped to 9,800 since March 1, but the US has delivered another 30,000 over the next 12 days. At this point, the newspaper notes, Ukraine’s demand for artillery shells is “essentially limitless,” while EU and US industry will “take years to catch up.”
According to the newspaper, the US has only “offered” to provide Ukraine with ground-launched small diameter bombs (GLSDBs), which have a range of about 140 km, noting that “they must first be manufactured and that producing even a small batch could take months.” Meanwhile, there have been reports of GLSDBs being used – and intercepted by Russian air defenses./.
