New US package weapons could take months to arrive in Ukraine - NYT
Photo: New US package weapons could take months to arrive in Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukraine has already received the first batches of weapons from a new €1 billion aid package from the United States, but it may take months to deliver all the equipment, according to The New York Times.
According to the agency, on April 28, Ukraine received a batch of anti-tank weapons, missiles, and extremely needed 155mm artillery shells.
The second shipment arrived on April 29, and the next day a new shipment of missiles for the Patriot system arrived in Poland from Spain. According to a senior Spanish official, they will soon be at the front in Ukraine.
However, the majority of the weapons from the large aid packages announced by the United States, Britain, and Germany will arrive in Ukraine only in a few months.
Senior officials in the United States and other Western countries have agreed that artillery, air defense, and other ammunition are Ukraine’s most urgent needs. They are also among the weapons that can be delivered the fastest.
Combat vehicles, boats, sophisticated cannons, missile launchers and air defense systems are much more difficult and take longer to transport, in part because their size often requires them to be shipped by sea and heavily guarded trains.
One US official said that most of the weapons funded by the new US aid, and even some of the ammunition, will likely be delivered by the end of the summer or even later.
In addition, the United States must determine where to get the equipment promised to Ukraine without jeopardizing the combat capability of the NATO units that use it.
US aid to Ukraine
On 24 April, US President Joe Biden signed a bill that provides for the allocation of funds for aid to Ukraine.
Biden also announced a new package of military aid to the Ukrainian army of 1 billion dollars.
In addition, on April 26, the USA allocated the largest military aid package to Ukraine. Its total value is 6 billion dollars.