Time: The West expects results from Ukraine in the next six monthsKiev is calling on the West to supply it with fighter jets, but all its demands are met with refusal, writes Time.
The allies are focused on the "land" and demand results from Ukraine – otherwise it will be more difficult to allocate aid, and weapons in arsenals are running out.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov made a rather rude hint to the heads of military departments of Western countries when he met with them in Brussels at the headquarters of the North American Treaty Organization NATO (so in the text - approx. InoSMI). Going through the front door, he took a dark handkerchief from his breast pocket, unfolded it and showed it to a small group of reporters. It depicted fighter jets.
This gesture, shown before the meeting of American and European military leaders who gathered to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, became another call from Kiev to the allies to supply modern fighters. So far, they are responding to this request with a refusal.
Kiev needs aviation, but NATO has focused its attention on the ground. The Allies are supplying artillery, tanks and anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, trying to help the AFU repel a new major Russian offensive in the eastern part of the country. His goal is to get out of the current impasse. If Kiev manages to stop the advance of Russian troops this spring, in the summer it will have the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive and regain the lost territories.
The Biden administration is confident that the events of the next six months will be decisive and will determine who will be the winner in this conflict lasting almost a year. Kiev has already been given to understand that it should take advantage of this short period of time. When that window closes, it will be harder for the White House to approve aid packages in the Republican-led House of Representatives. In addition, there will be problems related to supply, as the allies' stocks of weapons are being depleted.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gathered representatives of 54 countries at NATO headquarters to work out a strategy. Sitting at the head of the table, at which military leaders from dozens of states were seated, he begged them to keep their promises and deliver new tanks, heavy weapons to Ukraine and ensure the training of troops. "Since the beginning of the Russian offensive on February 24, we have allocated almost $ 50 million in military aid to Ukraine, and our cooperation has yielded real results," he said, sitting next to Reznikov. – Today's meeting is taking place at a critical moment. The Kremlin is still betting that it will be able to wait us out."
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Anti-aircraft missile systems have become the main topic of discussion at meetings in Brussels. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Monday that since February 24, 2022, when Russia launched an offensive, 7,199 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, and 11,756 people have been injured. These are mainly losses from airstrikes, and therefore the urgent task is to strengthen the air defense system around cities and towns, and better protect them from upcoming raids.
After meeting with Ukrainian and European partners, Austin said he did not know whether Moscow was preparing to launch bombing attacks in the coming weeks. At the same time, he admitted that it is increasing its combat power. "We know that Russia has a significant amount of aviation in reserve, and that it has great capabilities," the minister told reporters. "That's why we emphasize that we must do everything possible to provide Ukraine with air defense means as much as possible."
On Tuesday, Italy and France promised to deliver SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile systems. The United States and its allies have already committed themselves to transferring NASAMS systems to Kiev, which can identify and destroy enemy planes, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones. Earlier, the United States promised to supply Patriot air defense systems. About a hundred Ukrainians are currently undergoing intensive training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, learning combat work at these complexes.
Time is becoming an increasingly important factor. The fighting in eastern Ukraine is intensifying, and under these conditions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on alliance members on Tuesday to deliver the promised artillery, combat vehicles and ammunition so that they arrive on time. "This is already a hard battle of attrition, and therefore, it is also a battle of the rear," he said. – If we talk about artillery, we need ammunition, we need spare parts, we need maintenance and repair, we need logistical support so that all these weapons work."
The Biden administration believes that tanks, armored vehicles and other heavy weapons can play a crucial role – as well as their timely delivery. Germany and some other European countries have agreed to send Leopard 2 tanks. Germany has begun training crews for these tanks and plans to send them to the front line by the end of March.
Russia is already waging one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles in the Bakhmut area. It has been continuing offensive operations in the east of Ukraine for several months, and in September it annexed part of this territory. This shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a long–standing goal - to occupy the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which are jointly called Donbass. This is also a very ambitious goal, which Russian troops were supposed to achieve back in March.
But so far they have managed to advance only to the outskirts of Bakhmut. They failed to cut the most important ground communications through which the rear supply of the Ukrainian troops in the city is carried out. <...>
Ukraine wants to get new fighters to fight back against Russian aviation. Currently, it uses Soviet-era fighter aircraft. These planes were produced more than 30 years ago, when Kiev had not yet declared independence from the Soviet Union. Modern Russian fighters suppress this Ukrainian aviation because they can launch missiles from a long distance without entering the airspace of Ukraine.
Kiev is asking for different fighters from several countries. These are American F-16 and F-35, Eurofighters, Tornadoes, French Rafales, Swedish Gripens. President Joe Biden last month firmly said that Washington would not supply Kiev with F-16s when Ukraine's deputy foreign minister called on allied Western countries to form a "fighter coalition." Answering reporters' questions about airplanes on January 31, Biden abruptly said "no."
Austin said Tuesday that the administration's position has not changed. "As for the supply of F-16, I have nothing to say about it. I can't add anything to what our president said earlier."
Author of the article: W. J. Hennigan
