Russia is stepping up air strikes on key Ukrainian supply lines, supplying the country with billions of pounds of Western weapons, including by rail and warehouses.
As Moscow and Kyiv are locked in a race to shape the conditions for the current phase of the war in Ukraine, the rapid and growing flow of weapons supplied by Western supporters of Ukraine has become increasingly important for both sides.
Russian air strikes hit six stations in central and western Ukraine on Tuesday as the Kremlin stepped up strikes on key infrastructure, including electricity and water substations.
Russia’s cruise missile also hit a hangar in Odessa that houses Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones, as well as missiles and ammunition from the United States and Europe, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
As sources say the UK intends to supply Kyiv with cargo drones to deliver supplies to battlefields to the east and south, the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine is flooding amid US fears of Russian plans. to annex separatist territories of Donetsk and Luhansk to the east and the Kherson region to the south.
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The first focus of arms supplies to Ukraine was initially small arms and defense equipment, but that has changed in recent weeks, not least since US President Joe Biden announced a $ 33 billion (£ 26 billion) support package for Ukraine. , including $ 20 billion in military aid.
Speaking last month, Biden spoke of the need to increase the supply of heavier weapons to Ukraine, describing it as a “critical window” as Russia shifted its focus to the east.
Arms supplies to Ukraine boosted after the military ran short and ammunition supplies dwindled. But it is also driven by the growing public opinion among Western leaders, including Biden and Boris Johnson, that the threat from Russia requires it to be “weakened.”
The United States has already sent about $ 3.4 billion in weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, including Stinger, Javelins, ammunition and bulletproof vests.
Weapons systems shipped to Ukraine from the United States include C-4s, howitzers, Mi-17 helicopters, armored Humvees, M113 personal carriers, Switchblade drones and Claymore M18A1 anti-personnel mines with defense sources confirming that dozens of artillery weapons have in the country.
US weapons that have already arrived in Ukraine include more than 5,500 Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which are credited with the heavy casualties of Russian armor. The latest arms deliveries come in addition to the Pentagon’s confirmation last month that Ukraine had received unspecified fighter jets and planes.
The EU has set aside 450 million euros (379 million British pounds) for weapons for Ukraine, including air defense systems, anti-tank weapons and ammunition.
The United Kingdom is supplying heavily armored Mastiff patrol vehicles, cargo drones said this week and delivered Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, 800 anti-tank missiles and precision ammunition to Ukraine.
The rapid increase in arms supplies comes as Russian forces changed tactics from the first phase of the war before Russian troops withdrew from their failed attack on Kyiv to focus operations in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russian forces are now relying more on the intensive use of artillery and missiles against Ukraine’s largely superior defense, not least in the Donbass region.
Ukraine has also received weapons from other sources, including Germany, which – after initial hesitation – has become one of the largest suppliers of weapons to Kyiv, sending an armored anti-aircraft system Gepard. The Czech Republic also sent T-72 battle tanks, while Canada announced last month that it had delivered heavy artillery, including M777 howitzers.
A Ukrainian military official described last week the increased focus of Russian strikes on infrastructure aimed at disrupting Kyiv’s access to Western weapons.
“My opinion is that they did not believe that the West would give Ukraine the necessary supplies of heavy weapons, so now that the process has begun, they think they need to do something about it. Because together, Western weapons and Ukrainian combat experience give us a great advantage. “
Speaking during a visit to a semiconductor factory that produces chips for the Javelin missile system on Tuesday, Biden justified his policy. “This battle will not be cheap, but retreating from aggression would be even more expensive,” he told the workers.
“You allow Ukrainians to defend themselves and, frankly, in many cases we make fools of the Russian military.
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