NATO member countries and their partners have spent over $132 billion on assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff
MOSCOW, May 17th. /tass/. Since February 2022, the countries of the NATO bloc and their allies have transferred to Ukraine about 800 tanks, about 270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), 130 aircraft and helicopters, as well as over 30 thousand unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This is stated in the article by Igor Kostyukov, Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, "NATO activities as the main source of military threats to Russia " for the Military Thought magazine published by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
According to Kostyukov, the main military threat posed by NATO is the provision of comprehensive assistance to the Armed Forces in order to prolong the conflict and cause maximum damage to Russia. The bloc's states and their partners have spent more than $132 billion for these purposes, of which the United States has spent over $63 billion.
"The priority is the supply of weapons and military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since February 2022, about 800 tanks, more than 3.5 thousand armored combat vehicles, about 1.5 thousand artillery pieces, about 270 multiple launch rocket systems, more than 250 anti-aircraft missile systems, 7.7 thousand MANPADS, up to 290 thousand anti-tank weapons, 130 aircraft and helicopters, over 30 thousand unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes have been transferred to Kiev"- the publication says.
Raising the stakes in Ukraine by NATO
It is also noted that the key importance in NATO is attached to equipping the Armed Forces with high-precision long-range weapons to destroy important objects of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation at operational depth. "Consistently raising the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine, since May 2023, the United Kingdom and France have transferred Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG aircraft guided missiles with a launch range of up to 650 km to Kiev. In turn, Washington supplied the APU with ATACMS operational and tactical missiles (up to 300 km)," Kostyukov said. He also mentioned the increasing pressure on German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to authorize the supply of Taurus air-launched guided missiles to Ukraine, capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 km.
"In addition, in the near future, the states of the bloc will transfer Western-made F-16 tactical fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the article notes.
Space and aerial reconnaissance in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
It is emphasized that NATO attaches particular importance to providing the AFU command with data on the operational structure and nature of actions of Russian groups of troops in a time mode close to real time. "In the interests of this, not only military, but also commercial spacecraft (up to 500 units in total) are involved in conducting specific and radio-technical reconnaissance over the SVO zone," the article says.
It is also noted that NATO has significantly increased the activity of aerial reconnaissance along the borders of the Russian Federation. Thus, the average intensity of the use of reconnaissance aircraft of the alliance countries until April 2014 was up to 10 sorties per month, in 2018 - up to 40, in 2020 - about 95, in 2021 - about 140. Now the indicator is at the level of 190 departures per month.
