Several of Ukraine’s allies have decided to provide it with more arms in its war against Russia. This decision came ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meeting with the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. The group is an ad-hoc coalition of 50 nations, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He demanded long range weapons to strike deep inside Russia and urged that Putin’s “red lines” be ignored.
While a decision on that demand is being considered, alongwith the possible consequences, Washington has pledged $250 million in weaponry for Kyiv.
Canada, too, plans to send 80,840 surplus small unarmed air-to-surface rockets to Ukraine. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair confirmed plans to send 1,300 warheads in the coming months. Canada will also donate chassis assemblies from 29 M113 armoured personnel carriers and 64 Coyote armoured cars, which the Canadian armed forces are no longer using.
The British government has chipped in with 650 lightweight multi-role missiles worth 162 million pounds.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has promised Ukraine an additional 12 self-propelled howitzers. These would be new build and not from Germany’s defence stocks, meaning delivery will take time.
At Ramstein, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared focused on the broader Western effort to sustain Ukraine’s campaign to repel Russian forces from its territory,
War’s Toll
Moscow has also been pounding cities across Ukraine with missiles and drones in some of its largest attacks since the start of the war. It may be a counter to Ukraine’s Kursk offensive that has gathered considerable traction.
Zelenskiy has urged representatives from countries attending the Ramstein talks to make good on promises. He has also urged them to supply Kyiv with more means to foil airstrikes.
“The number of undelivered air defence systems is significant,” Zelenskiy complained.
He is expected to travel to the US this month and hopes to present a “victory plan” to President Joe Biden.
That maybe premature. The Kursk incursion, despite having caught Russia off guard resulting in significant losses in men, materiel and territory, has not resulted in any reduction of Russian forces in Ukraine. At this point, it is unclear if the advance into Russian territory will pay off.
Russian forces, which control 18% of Ukraine, have been gradually advancing in the east since the failure of Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive. The Kremlin has warned that conditions for peace talks with Ukraine do not now exist.
(with inputs from Reuters)
