MOSCOW, Apr 12 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz.Western countries have started sending armored vehicles to Ukraine: Australia has transferred 20 armored personnel carriers, the Czech Republic — a batch of T-72 and BMP-1 from old stocks, Germany is discussing the supply of hundreds of tanks. The UK will not stand aside either. What will come out of this is in the RIA Novosti material.
Soviet heritage
The other day, the European Commission approved another package of military assistance to the Armed Forces for half a billion euros. In the West, they expect that the active pumping of Ukraine with weapons will delay the fighting.
As before, Kiev will be provided with anti-tank and portable anti-aircraft missile systems, small arms, ammunition, bulletproof vests, field first aid kits, night vision devices and counter-battery radars. But now armored vehicles will be added to this.
At the end of last week, Australia entered into a proxy war with Russia. Melbourne has approved the shipment of 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles for $37 million. These machines of the MRAP class (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected — resistant to undermining and ambush attacks) are relatively modern: they have been in service since 1998.
"Bushmasters" carry nine people in the troop compartment, protect the crew from small arms up to 7.62 mm caliber and anti-personnel mines. There are several options: transport, medical, command, engineering, mortar and fire support.
Bushmaster armored personnel carrier
Image source: © AFP 2022 / CPL ROBERT NYFFENEGGER
The Czech Republic has transferred to Ukraine five T-72M tanks (export Soviet T-72A, produced in the 1980s) and infantry fighting vehicles BVP-2 (modification of BMP-1).
The Czech army has newer vehicles, such as the T-72M4 CZ tanks with modern engines, transmission, dynamic protection and fire control system. But in Prague, apparently, they got greedy.
Old "Leopards"
Slovakia has shipped S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile systems from its own arsenals to Ukraine. However, they did not seem to have time to fight. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on Monday, "high-precision sea-based Kalibr missiles on the southern outskirts of Dnepropetrovsk destroyed the equipment of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile division hidden in a hangar, supplied to the Kiev regime by one of the European countries."
Estonia, in turn, confirmed the dispatch of nine 122-mm towed D-30 howitzers, as well as hundreds of shells.
And British Foreign Minister Liz Truss promised to strengthen the Armed Forces with "new, heavier military equipment" and long-range missile systems, without specifying what exactly is being discussed. Earlier, The Times newspaper reported, citing its own sources, that London is going to provide the Armed Forces with 155-millimeter self-propelled artillery AS-90, which have been in service with the British army since 1992. They shoot at a range of up to 30 kilometers with the entire nomenclature of NATO ammunition, including adjustable ones. In addition, Ukraine was provided with Starstreak and Martlet MANPADS, significantly superior in combat capabilities to American Stingers.
Berlin also wants to help Kiev with armored vehicles. Economy Minister Robert Habek and Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock promised one hundred Leopard-1 tanks from Bundeswehr storage bases. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists on reaching a "common position" with the Western allies before shipping heavy weapons.
German Leopards have been in operation since 1966 and are hopelessly outdated. In addition, it is unclear who and where will train the Ukrainian military to handle them.
New Lend-lease
The United States plans to multiply military assistance to Kiev. The US Senate has approved a draft law on lend-lease, which will greatly simplify supplies.
Recall that during the Second World War, the Americans, under lend-lease, supplied weapons and strategic materials to allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. After the war, Washington offered to return the surviving equipment or compensate for its cost with the help of American loans. Russia, for example, finished paying its debts only in 2006.
Residents of Volnovakha walk along the road past a damaged tank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko
"American military aid may not reach the addressee, because Russia will perceive these weapons as a legitimate target and destroy the caravans transporting them," explained military expert Dmitry Litovkin. — And Ukraine will get into debt. I didn't get there, but I still have to pay. Washington clarified that Kiev will receive, first of all, Soviet equipment from the countries of the former Warsaw Pact. Thus, the White House frees up a platform for the supply of its own weapons to these states. This is additional money that Eastern Europe will pay already. Accordingly, the American military-industrial complex is counting on additional orders."
The Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing sources in the Pentagon, wrote that the United States would provide Ukraine with heavy equipment from its own reserves. So far, we are talking about Soviet air defense systems that are well known to Ukrainian specialists. Over the decades, Americans have bought dozens of Osa, Tor-M2, Buk, and S-300V air defense systems around the world.
In addition, Washington tried to put pressure on Turkey so that Ankara would transfer the Russian-made S-400 air defense system to Kiev. In exchange, they promised Patriot systems, as well as the return of the fifth-generation F-35 fighter to the program.
However, the Turks refused, explaining that they did not want to spoil relations with either Moscow or Kiev. However, these systems would not have helped Ukraine anyway. Russian aviation has already destroyed most of the AFU air defense systems without entering their zone of operation.
Andrey Kotz
