The Kiev government points out that half of the weapons promised by the Western allies are being delivered late. Zelenski says that 31,000 Ukrainian fighters have died since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
(DW) Half of the Western weapons promised to Ukraine are being delivered late, the country’s minister lamented on Sunday (25/02), amid a call for Western allies to send more arms so that the country can contain Russia.
“A promise does not constitute a delivery,” said Rustem Umerov, during a forum organized on the occasion of the second anniversary of the start of the war. “And 50% of commitments are not fulfilled on time,” he criticized.
The delays, according to the minister, put Ukraine at a great disadvantage in the war against Russia, pointing to “human and territorial losses” as a consequence.
At the moment, the Ukrainian army is facing an extremely delicate situation at the front and, after four months of violent fighting, has been forced to abandon the town of Avdiivka, in the east of the country.
Difficulties
Despite Kiev’s insistence, Western allies have faced difficulties in recent months in approving new aid packages for Ukraine.
In the United States, Republican congressmen, opponents of Democratic President Joe Biden, have been blocking a 60 billion dollar package for Ukraine for several weeks. In the European Union, meanwhile, there are delays in the delivery of 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine. According to Kiev, only 30% of the material has been delivered so far.
Despite the worrying signs, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said he is convinced that Washington “will not abandon” Kiev and will approve the aid.
In recent days, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has urged Western allies to send the promised aid more quickly. He has asked for more ammunition, air defense systems and fighter planes.
“They know very well what we need to protect our skies, to reinforce our army on land, what we need to support and continue our successes at sea. And they know perfectly well what we need in time,” Zelenski said during a videoconference meeting of the G7, which brings together the main Western powers.
The Ukrainian president also said that delays in arms deliveries contributed to the failure of Kiev’s counter-offensive last year.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who visited southern Ukraine this weekend, said that the allies’ help should not be “minimized as if it were something in vain”.
“It saves lives every day,” she insisted in the town of Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea. On Saturday, Baerbock admitted, however, that Ukraine needs more weapons for defense, particularly long-range ones.
Kiev has been demanding for months that Berlin deliver Taurus missiles, one of the most modern weapons of the German Air Force, but the government of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has avoided saying directly whether it intends to send this type of weaponry to Kiev.
Zelenski says Ukraine has lost 31,000 fighters
Also on Sunday, Zelenski said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during Russia’s large-scale invasion, releasing the first official figure for military losses in more than a year.
The Ukrainian leader told reporters that he could not release data on casualties, pointing out that this would help Russian military planning. “Thirty-one thousand Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in this war. Not 300,000, not 150,000. However, this is a great loss for us.”
Ukraine has not released a figure on its military losses since the end of 2022, when presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said that 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died since the invasion began on February 24 of that year.
Russian Defense Minister visits troops in Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected Russian troops deployed in occupied areas of Ukraine, particularly the invading forces that recently took part in the conquest of the Ukrainian city of Avdivka, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday (24/02), the second anniversary of the start of the large-scale invasion ordered by Moscow.
During the visit, Shoigu heard a report from Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev, commander of the “Center” troop grouping, on the current situation in that sector of the front line in eastern Ukraine. Mordvichev told him that “during the operation to liberate (sic) Avdivka, the enemy was driven from their positions more than 10 kilometers away” and that the Russian forces were continuing their offensive in that direction.
After the capture of Avdivka, he added, “around 200” Ukrainian soldiers were captured in operations to “cleanse” the town. Russian forces hope to capture another 100 soldiers, who are supposedly still in the city, according to the commander. None of these reports could be independently confirmed.
“Advantage is on our side”
Shoigu also took part in the decoration of the troops. This week, the Chief of Staff of the Russian Army, Valeri Gerasimov, also decorated the Russian fighters in Avdivka. “Today, in terms of the proportion of force, the advantage is on our side,” said Shoigu, forgetting that, strictly speaking, the proportion of force has always been on his side.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had previously ordered his military commanders to translate the success achieved in Avdivka to other sectors of the battlefront, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the start of a war that, according to Moscow’s initial planning, was only supposed to last a few weeks.
At the same time, Russia is celebrating increased action on the front and has claimed victories such as the seizure of Avdiivka, in the east of the country, on February 17, after months of fierce fighting.
Russian troops have also gone on the offensive in another area of the east, in nearby Mariinka.
“Today, in terms of the proportion of forces, the advantage is on our side,” said Russian Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu during a visit to the troops on Saturday.
On Friday, Putin congratulated what he called the “heroes” of his army fighting in Ukraine. Almost 500,000 people enlisted in the Armed Forces in 2023 and another 50,000 in January, while the country’s economy has been geared up to support the war machine.
The Russian opposition has been decimated by the Kremlin’s repression and recently suffered a heavy blow with the death of its main leader, Alexei Navalny, on February 16 in a prison in the Arctic region.
On Saturday, Russian police arrested several people, including journalists, during a demonstration by the wives of Russian soldiers who are demanding the return of servicemen who are in battle in Ukraine.
Every Saturday, soldiers’ wives lay flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a symbolic action near the Kremlin wall, known as the “Put Domoi” movement.
Commenting on the sanctions that have isolated Russia from the Western world, former Russian president and current Security Council number two Dmitri Medvedev said that the country will take revenge for the measures.
“We have to remember and take revenge on them whenever possible. They are our enemies,” he wrote on Telegram after the new restrictions announced in recent days by the US, EU and UK.
jps/as (AFP, Reuters) *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***