Ukrainian soldiers demand Nato hardware
In an interview Ukrainian soldiers demand Nato-style weapons to confront the Russian invaders.
So far the Ukrainian Army relies on Soviet hardware. But to deter the invaders Ukraine needs modern Nato-style hardware.
Ordinary fighters demand Zelensky to step down and Nato provide Ukraine with modern lethal arms.
The soldiers fear that Russia may have plans for further conquests, leaving Ukraine’s army unprepared.
They demand from Ukraine’s corrupt government and Nato to finally upgrade their military hardware, not just the training.
© 2020 DR News
“Ordinary fighters demand Zelensky to step down and Nato provide Ukraine with modern lethal arms.”
I couldn’t agree any more with both demands.
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I agree, but Ukraine cannot afford to buy weapons abroad. The military budget is extremely little, even for a country in peacetime.
At the same time, it is a whopping 5 or 6% of GDP, so there is not much room for increasing it.
I think Ukraine should not “waste” money on Western arms, because for the price of one Javelin missile, you have like 50 Stugna missile that are of course not as good, but can still do the job.
Now they lack both Javelins and sufficient numbers of Stugna missiles and launchers. They need to have a shitload of anti-tank missiles and launchers, at all borders and along the entire frontline.
For the Javelins, they have very few and may need to travel dozens of kilometers to be brought where they are needed. And I think only the “rear” army has them, not the people on the front line. Only if the frontline has problems, the rear army may come to the rescue with proper equipment, but then a trench may have already been overrun.
Ukraine should invest all its money in Ukrainian weapons, and only for some niche products they cannot make themselves, look to the West. This way they also develop the economy, as Ukrainian weapons improve and can also be sent abroad.
Furthermore, they should beg their Western partners for equipment. Maybe Biden would be willing to significantly increase the annual grant. Almost all countries that the U.S. sends military support to, get multiple times the amount Ukraine is getting.
But Ukraine has about a 500 mln dollars or so to spend on equipment a year: on the Western markets, this is not even enough for 4 F16 fighter jets, excluding missiles, training and maintenance. And in Ukraine, this 500 million has to be divided among all branches.
So yes, I would love to see Ukraine with F35’s, Abram tanks and Reapers, but as long as no Western state is willing to donate some billions, it is just a fantasy.
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