The West should speed up the provision of weapons to the Armed Forces

Ukraine's Armed Forces are forming several assault brigades, but the late and insufficient supply of Western weapons is likely to prevent them from being adequately staffed.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

It is noted that timely and appropriate Western security assistance remains a decisive factor in determining when and to what extent the Defense Forces will be able to seize the initiative on the battlefield and conduct future counteroffensive operations.

The ISW cited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's interview with Bloomberg, in which he said that at least 10 newly created brigades of the Armed Forces need heavy equipment - armored combat vehicles, armored personnel carriers, tanks, and heavy artillery - to counterattack. And the commander of one of the brigades currently in the Chasovyi Yar area noted that Ukrainian forces need ammunition rather than manpower.

The report also referred to Zelensky's words that military equipment takes too long to arrive at the front. In doing so, he repeated his comments from early June 2024 that the slow arrival of U.S. security assistance was complicating Ukraine's efforts to equip reserve brigades with enough equipment to engage them in defense operations.

"In recent months, Ukrainian media have regularly highlighted the lack of sufficient materiel to equip all of the new Ukrainian brigades currently being formed, and current reports suggest that Ukraine will not be able to fully staff all of its future brigades without additional Western security assistance. The months-long delay in Western assistance has exacerbated the challenges associated with the country's mobilization efforts," the report says.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 04/07/2024