The New York Times: Will Promised Weapons Reach Ukraine Before Its Defenses Collapse?

A second shipment of these weapons and ammunition is said to have arrived in Kyiv on Monday. On Tuesday, a new shipment of missiles for Patriot systems was delivered to Poland from Spain.

A high-ranking Spanish official indicated that they will soon be on the Ukrainian front.

Efforts are being made to hand over weapons as soon as possible to the exhausted Ukrainian army, which is desperately waiting for help. Over the past week, dozens of aircraft, trains and trucks have arrived at NATO warehouses in Europe with ammunition and smaller weapons systems that will be transported across Ukraine’s borders.

“Now we have to act fast, and we are,” April 24. Mr. Biden said as he signed the law approving the aid. “I will ensure that the shipments begin to be delivered immediately.”

In the last three weeks, huge aid packages have been announced not only by Washington, but also by London and Berlin.

But The New York Times noted that it may be difficult for Biden and other NATO allies to keep up the fast pace. Officials say it could take several months to deliver enough weapons to bolster Ukraine’s defenses on the battlefield.

Analysts fear Ukraine’s ability to contain Russian attacks that have put Kyiv at a disadvantage for months. The New York Times pointed out that Ukraine is indeed running out of time and may not be able to withstand a sustained Russian attack.

On Thursday, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress that Russia could potentially breach some of Ukraine’s front lines in the east of the country. A widely expected Russian attack this month or next only adds to the sense of seriousness.

“The Russian military is now trying to take advantage of the situation, and we are waiting for supplies from our partners, first of all the United States,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday in Kyiv.

He revealed that “some supplies have already been made”, but added that he had not received everything needed to equip the brigades.

A classified U.S. military assessment released this week concluded that Russia will continue to make weak gains in the east and southeast until May 9, the Victory Day holiday. However, it is predicted that the Ukrainian army will not completely collapse along the front line, despite the severe shortage of ammunition, noted an official interviewed by the publication.

Meanwhile, other American officials don’t think Russia has enough forces to mount a major resistance until May 9, a day Moscow typically uses to demonstrate its military power. That would require a major military buildup, which American officials have so far failed to record.

Western analysts predict that Ukraine will be able to stabilize its front lines in the summer at best, and at the end of the year at worst.

One American official said that most of the larger weapons that have been funded by the new US aid, and even some of the ammunition, will be shipped from the United States and likely won’t be delivered until the summer or even later. What’s more, the situation is complicated by the fact that not all promised weapons are immediately available.

The U.S. official noted that it will take time to figure out which weapons can be transferred to Ukraine without reducing the number of NATO units that must be combat-ready, such as the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Humvee personnel carriers that were part of the American package. Other armaments, such as 155 mm artillery shells, which Ukraine desperately needs, are in short supply worldwide.

As Ukraine struggles to hold territory, U.S. officials believe Russia will continue to attack and exploit the advantages it now has until full Western reinforcements arrive.

“I don’t think the Russians intended to press hard now, but they have made tactical gains in a few places and are likely in a hurry to take advantage of them before an influx of renewed munitions reaches the front to close the gap,” Ralph F. Goff told The New York Times. a former high-ranking official of the Central Intelligence Agency.