Only three types of weapons can turn the tide of the war in Ukraine

Only three types of weapons could help to achieve a turning point on the battlefield in Ukraine, commented the editorial of the British newspaper The Telegraph, emphasizing that, first of all, Kiev's military needs artillery shells.

During the first 18 months of the start of the war, the US was the main supplier of artillery ammunition to the Ukrainian units.

"In total, the Americans donated about two million shells. Half came straight from American stocks. America quietly bought the other half from South Korea. These shells, along with additional ammunition from other sources, allowed Ukrainian weapons to fire about 10,000 rounds a day for most of the first year and a half of the war. This was enough to match the Russian batteries when the Russians used up most of their ammunition reserves in the first few weeks of the war,” the material said.

However, the Republican Party's blockade of approving new funding and further reductions in the amount of ammunition supplied by the US to Ukraine by the end of last year have cut the daily supply of ammunition to Ukrainians by two-thirds. The material notes that a plant for the production of projectiles is now being built in the USA – in Texas, in addition to an existing facility in another state. Therefore, the US will soon be able to produce about 70,000 missiles per month, six times the amount from 2022.

"There is no reason why most of the projectiles cannot reach Ukraine if there is funding for each one costing $5,000. In combination with projectiles from the European Union, as well as the so-called a Czech initiative, emergency supplies of shells from the US could give Ukraine a long-term artillery advantage for the first time in a full-scale war, the article explains.

The need for the Patriot air defense system

Ukraine's second biggest need is Patriot air defense batteries and missiles for them. The military used them in particular to shoot down 13 Russian planes within two weeks.

"Ideally, Ukraine would deploy $1 billion worth of Patriot batteries in each of its half-dozen major cities, as well as one each on the eastern and southern fronts. And those batteries would need to be free to fire at maximum speed, meaning it would need a steady supply of missiles, each costing about three million dollars. Doubling or tripling their number could help the Ukrainians regain control of the front line. line in the air, as well as to reverse the worrying trend of larger and bloodier Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities”, writes The Telegraph.

Armored vehicles

Another type of weapon that Ukraine needs is armored vehicles. The publication notes that the 47th Mechanized Brigade is the main operator of American armored vehicles, in particular M-1 Abrams tanks and M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles, so by supplying new equipment the US could "save one of the most -the good Ukrainian brigades".

Abrams and Bradley are some of the best armored vehicles in the world. In counterattacks against Russian assault groups west of Avdeevka, they were used to delay the Russian winter offensive. As a result, Ukraine's territorial losses are minimized while reducing the supply of artillery ammunition.

But the Americans sent only 31 M-1s and about 200 M-2s before the Republicans stopped the aid. Four M-1s and more than 30 M-2s were destroyed, the rest were damaged. The 47th Brigade is running out of equipment. And the US Army has "thousands of older M-1s and M-2s in stock." They will need major repairs before being sent to Ukraine, but one billion dollars is enough to pay for the work, as well as expedited delivery,”, the editorial office estimates.

Therefore, as soon as the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson puts the aid to Ukraine to a vote, the Pentagon will be able to accelerate the delivery of hundreds of tanks and combat vehicles to the Ukrainian army.