Ukraine’s Great Offensive: Will There Be Enough Weapons? Positions of some media

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Against the background of Ukraine’s preparations for a large-scale counteroffensive, some well-known world media began to publish analytical materials that question the readiness of the defense forces to effectively conduct such a large-scale military operation. Such publications definitely do not increase the motivation of allied countries to help Ukraine. Therefore, it is important to understand where the foundation of skeptical attitudes is buried, and whether this is not a replication of Russian fakes.

 

“Projectile starvation” and “unpreparedness” for a counteroffensive

Commander-in-Chief of NATO’s combined armed forces in Europe (2009 — 2013), James Stavridis, insists that Ukraine is running out of ammunition, and Western countries have problems with their global supply chain.

Ukraine’s Great Offensive: Will There Be Enough Weapons? Positions of some media, The Ukrainian Review

James Stavridis, Commander-in-Chief of NATO’s combined armed forces in Europe (2009 — 2013)

“Guns, missiles, and ammunition — especially howitzer shells — are of most concern. Notable among the stockpiles running low is the 155-mm gun rounds that have emerged as the key offensive punch for the Ukrainians. Several analysts believe that Ukraine is burning through a year’s worth of U.S. prewar production monthly” — believes Stavridis.

Military columnist Bloomberg believes that the reason for this state of affairs is the exhaustion of the arsenal of democracy, which is “in a deplorable state.” The expert clearly hints at greater mobilization opportunities in the authoritarian Russian Federation.

According to Stavridis, the economic supremacy of the United States rests on high technology, not on supremacy in production, therefore it is difficult to produce “sophisticated” weapons on a sufficient scale. The expert also notes that after the Cold War, the share of US defense spending in the GDP structure has halved.

Ukraine’s Great Offensive: Will There Be Enough Weapons? Positions of some media, The Ukrainian Review

Mark Galeotti, London-based political scientist, lecturer and writer on transnational crime and Russian security affairs

British political scientist Mark Galeotti writes in an article for The Times that Ukraine is not ready for a major offensive at all but is a hostage to the situation. Namely the “cabinet warriors” as the expert calls them, who are actively discussing various scenarios for the return of the occupied territories.

Galeotti, referring to an unnamed Ukrainian official, notes that there is no freedom of maneuver in Ukraine.

Some publications, such as The Washington Post, even refer to the statements of high-ranking Ukrainian officials. In particular, in this material, the team of authors says that Ukraine is afraid of losing international support, which is why the country’s leadership makes statements about inflated expectations in the world from a future counteroffensive. Although in fact the whole world already perfectly understands that everything will not happen at once and that the liberation of Ukrainian territories is not a matter of a few days or weeks. At the same time, Western partners have repeatedly expressed their support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.

 

Experts: objections about the unpreparedness of Ukraine – information and psychological operations

Valentyn Gladkyh, political analyst, candidate of philosophical sciences, and associate professor of Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko believes that such publications are part of informational pressure on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Great Offensive: Will There Be Enough Weapons? Positions of some media, The Ukrainian Review

Valentyn Gladkyh, political analyst

“I tend to consider it as an informational and psychological operation. The result will be on the battlefield. Regarding the military budget of the United States. It is larger than 9 other countries from the top ten combined. For them, these expenses for supporting Ukraine are not large, but for us it is critically important. Similar statements (about the inability of the US to provide Ukraine with military aid in sufficient volume – ed.) are also often an element of domestic political games. And when they tell us that we are not ready, then on the contrary, we should hold on to this thesis and demand even more military and technical assistance,” the political expert believes.

Ukrainian military expert Dmytro Snegiryov also agrees with Valentyn Gladkyh:

“Such messages can be informational and psychological operations. There are structures that can promote similar theses through the Western mass media. There have been many times when the Russian side has tried to use Western mass media to promote its own narratives.

Ukraine’s Great Offensive: Will There Be Enough Weapons? Positions of some media, The Ukrainian Review

Ukrainian military expert Dmytro Snegiryov

Publications in the tabloids are one thing, but the numbers testify to the aid to Ukraine. Let’s recall Zaluzhnyi’s interview with The Economist, where he talked about the need for 600-700 armored vehicles, among other weapons. In the end, they gave them 1 500. A telling fact. So far, it has been decided to supply Ukraine with 1 million shells. The amount is $1 billion. Taking into account the previous ones, this amount is $2 billion. The total volume of military-technical and economic aid to Ukraine, according to specialists’ estimates, is around 150 billion. air-launched missiles). In addition, the issue of creating an aviation coalition has actually ceased to be debatable and removed from the agenda: The Pentagon will not object to the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine [see detailed here and here — ed]) This is only part of the facts that indicate that Western countries provide assistance according to the needs of the Armed Forces. There are positions of the governments of the USA, Great Britain, and other partners: further support for Ukraine is a constant, not negotiable,” Dmytro Snegiryov said.

 

Conclusions

Any warring country needs as many modern weapons and ammunition as possible, Ukraine is certainly no exception. Of course, we would like to see even more military aid from Western partners, but frankly, skeptical assessments by some experts and journalists are, first of all, not objective, because Ukraine receives sufficiently large amounts of weapons and will definitely continue to receive them until victory, secondly, they definitely do not add motivation to increase aid to a country that is fighting for the entire civilized world against an aggressor.

 

Kostyantyn Grechany