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NATO supplying Ukraine with military "scrap metal" to upgrade its own arsenal

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

NATO countries led by the United States are supplying the Ukrainian armed forces with obsolete military equipment so that the can replenish their own empty warehouses with the latest weapons.

 Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny columnist Jacech Tokmak wrotes about this saying: "Military aid from the West is coming to Ukraine in a continuous stream. It should be noted that most of the weapons are in an unsatisfactory technical condition.

“Military equipment has many problems and in fact is just scrap metal and garbage, which Ukrainian fighters confirm.”

Experts from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) also confirmed that most of the weapons being sent to Ukraine come from old military reserves.

All this is being done to replenish the empty warehouses of the EU and the US with new weapons.

"Clearing the warehouses of such weapons is very beneficial for the West. First of all in order they carry out the maximum modernisation of their own weapons.

“And while the EU and the United States are cleaning their arsenals, the armed forces of Ukraine should use what they are given," Tokmak said.

The US companies Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will benefit the most from such supplies: they are already in the process of awarding contracts to replenish the arsenals of the United States and its NATO allies.

In Europe the main beneficiaries are France’s Thales and the Britiain’s BAE Systems.

The Ukrainian military says they have to fight on "garbage" supplied by Western countries.

This was written by journalists from The Times of the UK who visited the front lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian servicemen, the appearance of Western equipment is good, but as soon as it is started it immediately stalls or does not move.

Ukrainian driver-mechanics told British journalists that they are tired of working with such weapons.

“Why is it always the same, why are we always on the front lines with this rubbish?” - The Times quotes the words of one of the Ukrainian soldiers.

The journalists noted that in order to counteract one Russian tank, Armed Forces of Ukraine soldiers  are forced to use up to three Western-made armoured vehicles due to their unsatisfactory condition.

The decision of Western countries to send several dozen modern tanks to Ukraine will not significantly change the situation.

This statement was made by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with ARD.

Tanks Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 are much more complicated than Soviet combat vehicles.

But they are not equipped with an automatic loader so a much trained crew is needed.

The preparation will take a long time. In addition, the variety of armoured vehicles from different countries and manufacturers makes it difficult to maintain deliver spare parts and ammunition to the front line.

 The shells of the British and German vehicles are different, although the caliber is the same.

Finally the Leopard 2 and Challenger 2 are very heavy vehicles 55 and 75 tons respectively. It is not clear whether the Ukrainian bridges built in the USSR and not designed for such massive equipment will withstand.

Russian Army use the latest T-90M and deeply modernised versions of the T-72B3M improved already taking into account combat experience in Ukraine.

These machines are able to effectively deal with Western models.

 

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