How much of the weapons promised to Ukraine by the West have been delivered

Russia’s attacks on several cities, including the capital Kiev, have accelerated efforts by the United States and its allies to provide more military support to Ukraine.

The attack on the Kerch Bridge, the only land link between the illegally annexed Crimea and Russia, marked a new chapter in the war in Ukraine.

The bridge was very important for Russia. Russian authorities blamed Ukrainian military intelligence services for the attack. Experts closely following the issue expected Russia to react harshly to this attack. And so it was. In the following days, Russia launched attacks targeting many Ukrainian cities, especially the capital Kiev. In addition to Russian strategic bombers, missiles were also fired from the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.

The attacks were seen as a major act of retaliation. Russian President Vilademir Putin said the attacks, which killed 14 civilians, were in retaliation for the attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects his country to Crimea.

“It is clear that the Ukrainian secret services organized and carried out the terrorist attack,” Putin said, adding that they wanted to destroy Russia’s critical civilian infrastructure.

Russian attacks were not limited to these. The capital Kiev continued to be targeted by “kamikaze” unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allegedly supplied by Iran.

These attacks have galvanized countries that have supported Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

According to US media reports and analysis, the latest Russian attacks have increased pressure on the US and other European countries, which have been slow to provide advanced weapons systems to Ukrainian forces.

US President Joe Biden said the attacks reinforced his country’s commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people, “These attacks have killed and wounded civilians. They targeted and destroyed areas that had no military purpose. Once again, these attacks show the full brutality of Putin’s illegal war against the Ukrainian people.”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy, on the other hand, announced that he had a ‘productive discussion’ with Biden about air defense weapons.

Simultaneously with these developments, the US and many other countries have accelerated the transfer of many systems, especially Ukrainian air defense systems, to Ukraine.

Following the attacks, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced that two US air defense systems, known as NASAMS, were weeks away from delivery and efforts were underway to speed up the process.

NASAMS, developed by the United States, is a ground-to-air medium-range air defense system. The system is in the inventory of 12 countries along with the US.

This system, which the US has committed to provide in July, is expected to be delivered to Ukraine after the necessary training is completed.

However, it is known that 2 NASAMS systems are not enough for Ukraine. The delivery of additional systems is expected to take years. US officials emphasize that these systems are not being produced.

So how do the US officials intend to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense?

First of all, it is worth noting the following. Ukraine has an army equipped with military equipment produced by the Soviet Union and later Russia. Fighter jets, small arms, tanks, air defense systems…

These Russian-made weapons can be easily used by the Ukrainian army. The US is also focused on supplying Russian-made systems to Ukraine, considering both the production delay and the training process.

Slovakia, for example, sent its only S-300 system to Ukraine in April.

In response, the Pentagon decided to deploy a Patriot missile system to Slovakia, to be operated by US soldiers.

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement that the first state-of-the-art Iris-T SLM air defense system will be ready in the coming days to effectively protect people in Ukraine.

A few days later, the German Defense Ministry announced the delivery of the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defense systems to Ukraine. It announced the development on its official Twitter address.

Deutschland liefert das erste von vier IRIS-T SLM Luftverteidigungssystem an die #Ukraine. Die jüngsten russischen #Raketenangriffe auf Kiew und andere Städte zeigen, wie wichtig diese Fähigkeit für die Selbstverteidigung der Ukraine ist. pic.twitter.com/zMGT6zNkDc

— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) October 10, 2022

“Germany has delivered the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defense systems to Ukraine. The recent Russian missile attacks on Kiev and other cities show how important air defense capabilities are for Ukraine’s self-defense.”

France has also pledged more support for Ukraine in the wake of the attacks. In a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to increase support for Ukraine, including sending more military equipment.

But there are many questions about how far the French will follow through. Studies show that France spends less on promised arms shipments to Ukraine than smaller European countries such as Estonia and the Czech Republic.

Ukraine is known to be particularly interested in the SAMP-T air defense system, a joint French-Italian production, but the French are very reluctant. Some say this is due to technical reasons, while others claim that the French are reluctant.

On the other hand, negotiations are ongoing on the high-precision howitzer CAESAR system that Denmark wants to procure from France for delivery to Ukraine. The French have already delivered 18 of these systems to Ukraine.

Although the European Union (EU) countries have announced military and financial aid packages, the biggest support for Ukraine has come from the United States, which has provided Ukraine with $17 billion in aid since February.