Ukraine: The United States and Europe vow heavy weaponry
The US said it will send a package costing $2.5 billion (£2 billion), which will include armoured vehicles and air defence systems.
Several European countries promised their own additional packages, including hundreds of missiles guaranteed by the United Kingdom to Kyiv.
The statements came before of a crucial summit in Germany on Friday, where 50 countries will coordinate arms deliveries.
Representatives from 11 countries gathered on Thursday at an army base in Estonia to discuss a variety of new packages to assist Ukraine in regaining land and fending off any additional Russian incursions.
More assistance has been pledged by nine countries: the United Kingdom, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.
The following packages were announced in a joint statement:
- The United Kingdom has 600 Brimstone missiles.
- Denmark has 19 Caesar self-propelled howitzers built in France.
- Estonia has anti-tank grenade launchers, howitzers, ammunition, and support vehicles.
- Latvia has two helicopters, two Stinger air defence systems, and drones.
- Lithuania has anti-aircraft weaponry as well as two helicopters.
- S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 rounds of ammo in Poland
- Czech Republic - manufactures more big calibre ammunition, howitzers, and APCs.
- The Netherlands will announce its assistance package on Friday.
The news of new US backing came later in the day on Thursday. Despite Ukrainian aspirations, it did not include tank offers.
However, the Pentagon promised Kyiv an additional 59 Bradley armoured vehicles, 90 Stryker troop carriers, and Avenger air defence systems, among other large and small weapons.
Recent air attacks, it added, revealed "the catastrophic impact of Russia's cruel conflict in Ukraine," but the freshly pledged armaments will assist to deter these.
According to the statement, the US has now contributed more than $26.7 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Moscow's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace speaks with Baltic defence ministers at Tapa Army Base in Estonia.
On Friday, the Ukraine Defence Group, comprised of important partners including the United States, will gather at the Ramstein air base in Germany to consider more military assistance.
President Zelensky stated that he expects "strong decisions" on additional arms shipments to be taken at that conference, including a "big military support package" from the United States.
The talks are likely to centre on whether to send heavy tanks and, more importantly, who will supply them. Despite Western allies' pledges of billions of dollars in new weapons on Thursday, this question remains unresolved.
Ukraine has requested that German-made Leopard tanks be supplied to the front lines.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under increasing international and internal pressure to supply them, or at the very least permit third-country delivery.
Poland and Finland have both pledged to deploy Leopards, but only with Germany's approval as the producing country.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Prime Minister, stated he was "moderately sceptical" about Germany granting permission to re-export Leopards to Ukraine.
President Zelensky has also addressed Germany's reservations.
"Right now, we're waiting for a decision from one European capital to activate the preset chains of cooperation on tanks," he stated Thursday evening.
A government source in Berlin told Reuters that no country has asked to re-export their tanks.
The United Kingdom was the first country to provide tanks to Ukraine, promising to deploy 14 British army Challenger 2s.
No comments