Once a day, NU.nl gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: the United States is sending weapons and humanitarian aid to the country for more than 1 billion euros. Ukraine is desperate for extra weapons, because the Russians can shoot up to ten times as much ammunition per day.
The US wants to send 1 billion dollars (about 960 million euros) in arms aid to Ukraine. It would involve missiles, tank ammunition, spare parts and weapons training. In addition, the country also receives more than 200 million euros in humanitarian aid.
US President Joe Biden pledged the aid on Wednesday. That same day, he held a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
The weapons come partly from American stocks. Another part should come from a weapons program that the US Congress has set up to assist Ukraine.
The humanitarian aid is intended for clean drinking water, medical aid, food and shelter for those affected in Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of the country on February 24, the US has sent more than €4 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine has been asking for more and heavier weapons for months. According to Zelensky, if the West delivered weapons faster, Russian troops could be pushed back more quickly.
Russia would shoot far more ammunition than Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukraine says the battle for Kharkiv and Severodonetsk is not going well for the country. Zelensky said on Tuesday evening that Ukrainian troops in the fight against the Russian invasion army in the east of the country “are suffering painful losses”. This is happening in the city of Severodonetsk as well as in the Kharkiv region.
Zelensky, in his usual late-day speech, reiterated that Ukraine is desperate for modern missile defenses. He added that there is no justification for Western partners to delay the delivery of those weapons.
So far, only 10 percent of the military equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself has been supplied from abroad, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on TV.
The Russians have much more men and weaponry at their disposal. According to her, Ukrainian artillery fires five to six thousand shells a day, Russia about ten times as much.
UK says the Netherlands has pledged anti-ship missiles
The United Kingdom also promises to send missile systems to Ukraine. According to the British defense minister, the Netherlands has promised to supply anti-ship missiles. At the end of May, Denmark promised the same. NU.nl is awaiting a response from the Dutch Ministry of Defense to the British statements.
Ukraine would need at least 1,000 armored howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones. The country’s government announced this on Monday.
The armored howitzer is the heaviest artillery available to the Dutch army. The weapon can hit targets up to 50 kilometers away.
NATO wants to help Ukraine switch to western weapons systems
NATO pledged Tuesday night to help Ukraine transition to using Western weapons to defend itself. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the West could finalize the new aid package for Ukraine at a meeting in Madrid at the end of June.
Today, the country mainly uses obsolete weapons from the Soviet era. It would still take time for the Ukrainian army to get used to the use of Western weapons.
Western weapons are more modern than most of the weapons the country currently uses, Stoltenberg said. At the moment, it is mainly the NATO countries that supply Poland and Romania with weapons that come from the old arsenals. Those supplies are running out.
US: ‘We must not slacken’
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, where he took part in a meeting between NATO defense ministers.
The former general said he was satisfied with the way the military alliance approached aid efforts for Ukraine together. “But we mustn’t slack,” Austin warned. “The stakes are too great.
According to the defense minister, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is also a threat to security in Europe. He promised more military support to the country.