Half of the Western weapons promised to kyiv are being delivered late, the Ukrainian Defense Minister regretted on Sunday, whose country is urging its allies to send weapons and ammunition to avoid human losses and defeats against the Russians.
“Currently, commitment does not equate to delivery, 50% of [ces] commitments are not delivered on time,” Roustem Oumerov said at a forum in kyiv on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Because of these delays, “we are losing people, we are losing territories,” added the minister.
The Ukrainian army, in difficulties on the front, has just withdrawn from its fortress town of Avdiïvka (East) after four months of tough fighting, citing a lack of men and ammunition.
Confident despite the heavy human cost of the war, Russia pushes ever harder on the southern and eastern fronts, although without a major breakthrough.
Western allies, whose support is essential for kyiv, have been reluctant in recent months to validate new budgetary envelopes.
Aid worth US$60 billion is blocked in the American Congress, held back by divisions between Republicans and Democrats, and that from the European Union has fallen behind schedule, even though it was finally validated in February.
Despite these worrying signals, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal said he was convinced that the United States “will not abandon” kyiv to Russia and will ultimately approve the aid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pressed his Western allies in recent days to deliver military assistance more quickly, calling in particular for ammunition, more air defense systems and fighter jets.
“You know very well what we need to protect our skies, to strengthen our land army, what we need to sustain and continue our successes at sea, and you know very well that we need this on time, and we are counting on you,” he said on Saturday during a virtual G7 meeting.
Ukraine is also seeking to develop its own arms production, a task that promises to be difficult.
The Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, nevertheless assured that the national defense industry had produced “three times more” in 2023 than in 2022 and that Ukraine had “considerably increased the production of munitions”.
Minister Roustem Oumerov said Ukraine hoped for a “breakthrough” in 2024. “We already have a plan,” he said, promising “results.”
“Martyrized”
For President Zelensky, delays in arms deliveries contributed to the failure of kyiv’s counter-offensive in the summer of 2023.
Visiting southern Ukraine, the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, affirmed that we should not “minimize this aid” from Ukraine’s allies. “This saves lives every day,” she insisted in Mykolaiv, proof according to her that we must “continue to provide it”.
The day before, she had recognized that Ukraine lacked weapons to defend itself, particularly long-range ones. kyiv has long requested Taurus from Berlin, one of the most modern and effective missiles in the German Air Force.
Pope Francis, for his part, spoke on Sunday of “the martyred Ukrainian people”, calling for a “diplomatic solution to be found in search of a just and lasting peace”.
Ukrainian territory is targeted daily by Russian missiles and drones.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, a Russian attack on Kostiantynivka (east) left one person injured and damaged numerous civilian buildings, including a train station, according to police.
In Nikopol (south), a Russian drone dropped explosives on a car, killing the 57-year-old man who was there, said regional governor Serguiï Lyssak.