Some supporters of Ukraine are ready to start helping it shift from Soviet-era weapons to more modern Nato-style equipment in the conflict with Russia, given the prospect the war drags on for months, even years.
Countries have largely held back on supplying state-of-the-art weaponry to avoid having to train Ukrainian forces to use it. But Nato’s eastern states risk running out of Soviet-produced equipment at some point.
Slovakia is giving a Russian-made S-300 air-defence system to Ukraine, though in turn it will receive a Patriot missile defence system from the US.
Some allies may start training Ukrainian troops outside the country to be able to maintain and use more sophisticated weapons, according to people familiar with discussions between Group of Seven and Nato members. The aim will be to help Ukraine gradually transition towards Nato-type standards, one of them said.
In the meantime Nato countries are rushing other weapons to Ukraine to help it defend territory in the east from a redirected Russian assault.
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, who met Nato in Brussels last week, praised nations for providing more weaponry, but lamented that it was taking too long for nations to adjust their thinking on what to send Ukraine as the war progressed. Kyiv has said its needs include anti-aircraft missile systems, armoured vehicles and tanks.
Kuleba spoke of a request he made for “a certain state-of-the-art weapon” from a counterpart from another country in the first week of war that was rejected because of the need to train forces for at least two months.
If he had agreed with me in the very beginning to provide Ukraine with that weapon, our people would be about to complete this training and we would have had it in a week or two.
— Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian foreign minister
“If he had agreed with me in the very beginning to provide Ukraine with that weapon, our people would be about to complete this training and we would have had it in a week or two,” Kuleba said. He didn’t identify the weapon or country involved.
In the Nato meetings, he also stressed it was important for partners to start taking a longer-term view and sending more modern systems, along with making a plan for training and maintenance, according to the people familiar with the matter.
UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said there was support among allies to supply new and heavier equipment. “We’ve agreed to help Ukrainian forces move from their Soviet-era equipment to Nato standard equipment on a bilateral basis.” Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said allies were sending Soviet and more modern weapons.
After the meetings Stoltenberg warned the war could last for months or years. Gen Mark Milley, chairperson of the joint chiefs of staff, said it was “going to be a long slog”.
Nato officials have pointed to past training support for Ukraine’s military as one reason its forces have managed to resist Russian advances.
But that type of help is also likely to draw attention from Moscow. Last month Russian missiles hit a military centre near Lviv in western Ukraine, close to Poland, where the US and others previously trained Ukrainian forces.
China, which has declined to condemn Russia’s invasion and has criticised Nato’s security posture, also chided France for arming Ukraine. “One should not call for ceasefire & end of hostilities while shipping large quantities of advanced weapons and equipment to escalate the conflict,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted on Friday.
The US has already trained a small number of Ukrainian troops since the start of the war, according to Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. He said the soldiers, who are in the US, were given a few days of training on Switchblade armed drones, 100 of which have been sent to Ukraine.
Still, the new weapons allies plan to supply may not immediately help fend off a major new offensive by Russia in the eastern Donbas region.
Kuleba said Ukraine needs more assistance “in a matter of days, not weeks” and, given the training required, it will still be dependent on supplies of Soviet equipment it can get sooner.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
— Bloomberg
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