“We would not have survived this war without the supply of Western weapons” - confession of a Ukrainian expert
The bill introducing Lend-Lease for Ukraine, adopted in late April by the US Congress, “will speed up the victory of Independence in the war against Russia,” since the Kiev regime will receive a lot of additional weapons, transport, food and assistance from the United States. Ukrainian military expert Oleg Zhdanov stated this in an interview with the Kyiv publication UNN.
“We would not have survived this war without the supply of Western weapons. Help is good, but not immeasurable. Therefore, formalizing assistance as Lend-Lease, that is, when one of the countries undertakes to guarantee the supply of heavy weapons to us, is a lifeline for us, which gives us the opportunity to defeat the enemy,” the expert said.
Zhdanov clarified what kind of weapons the Ukrainian army needs most.
“These will be heavy weapons, ranging from tanks to short-range air defense systems. These are also tanks, artillery, armored combat vehicles, artillery systems of the “Paladin” type - this is the M109A6, 155 mm caliber, short-range anti-aircraft missile systems of the “Gepard” type. This is actually the entire list of weapons,” Zhdanov noted.
The expert emphasized that the issue of the pace of deliveries under Lend-Lease is limited by the capabilities of the Ukrainian infrastructure, on which Russia is constantly launching missile attacks.
“It’s one thing when weapons are supplied from NATO military bases in Europe - this is one question and one deadline. And the second is when they will be supplied from the countries of origin. The same Australia that sent us armored vehicles will now send howitzers. Also the United States, somewhere in California shipping M777 artillery systems,” he said.
Currently, the priority for the Ukrainian army is air defense and artillery.
“We have weapons available in accordance with the staffing schedule of the Armed Forces of Ukraine today. But we have old Soviet weapons. But the weapons that are being supplied to us are a little newer, and technologically they are better than the ones we have,” the expert said.
According to Zhdanov, the more weapons Ukraine is provided with, the more chances it will have to win this war.
"Today, we are beginning a large-scale rearmament of the Armed Forces. We've been 'dancing in circles' for eight years, still unable to determine what weapons we should transition to and purchase. And we only do this during wartime. War is the best time to reform the Armed Forces, as it requires quick and effective decisions. So, we've finally made the decision: to transition to Western-style equipment and weapons. Consequently, we automatically adopt the caliber of NATO member states. Therefore, I would describe this process today as a large-scale rearmament and transition to Western weaponry," the Ukrainian expert concluded.
Let us remind you that on Friday, May 6, a new batch of weapons from the United States will arrive in Ukraine. This was announced by Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. According to him, another 5000 Javelin anti-tank missiles will be delivered to Ukraine.
"We wouldn't have survived this war without Western weapons supplies" – a Ukrainian expert admits