In connection with the NATO summit in Vilnius, several nations have launched new military supply programs for Ukraine.
“Ukraine will receive more than 1.5 billion euros in military aid from its international partners” (Germany, Australia, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Canada), Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced in a tweet yesterday. Incoming aid includes “long-range SCALP missiles, Leopard tanks, additional Patriot missiles, and the start of pilot training on F-16 aircraft.”
On that last point: “The first group of 10 pilots who will train abroad is already prepared,” spokesman for the Air Force of Ukraine Colonel Yuri Ignat told Ukrinform agency: “The second wave will follow them.” etc. While the former will already use the aircraft that will enter service in the Ukrainian skies, the others will use them in the skies of partner countries and prepare to join their comrades.”
According to the spokesman, the pilots who will be immediately trained on the F-16 will be young but already experienced pilots with hundreds of hours of flight time and significant combat experience.
There Germany Before the start of the NATO summit in Vilnius, German government circles told the DPA news agency that they would send weapons and military equipment to Ukraine for a further 700 million euros.
Expected supplies include another 40 Marder tanks (another 20 have already been announced), 25 Leopard 1A5 tanks (in the photo above – the first examples of this model to reach the Kiev army), 5 BREM Bergerpanzer recovery tanks and 2 launchers for the Patriots, 20,000 artillery shells and anti-drone systems.
Last May, Berlin presented another 2.7 billion euro package. Germany last week delivered 6 Gepard anti-aircraft guns (pictured below) to Ukraine, in addition to the 34 previously delivered, as well as thousands of 155mm shells for howitzers.
The list of the latest deliveries includes 3,230 155mm shells, 1,184 large-caliber smoke grenades, a Beaver bridge carriage and components for the IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile systems (see this link the list of German military deliveries to Ukraine).
On July 13th at France Military sources said they have already delivered the first shipment of SCALP cruise missiles to Ukraine, which, like the two London-supplied Storm Shadows, are to be deployed aboard Ukraine’s Sukhoi SU-24M aircraft.
On July 14th Bulgaria officially announced the delivery of military vehicles to Ukraine, with a package of 100 vehicles, including infantry fighting vehicles, mainly tracked BMP-1PB and wheeled BTR-60PB.
The President of United States Joe Biden said on July 12 that he would study the possibility of supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles than previously available: these are short-range ATACMS missiles, capable of being launched by MLRS/HIMARS systems and over a range of 300 kilometers.
There Poland handed over a dozen Mi-24 attack helicopters, which had been expelled from the ranks of the Warsaw Armed Forces, to Ukraine on July 9, which transported them across the border in trucks.
The Prime Minister Australian Anthony Albanese announced on July 10 that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) would send an E-7A wedgetail radar surveillance and early warning aircraft (pictured below) with about 100 troops to Germany to help guard the borders . Eastern NATO aircraft.
In VIlnius the prime minister of JapanFumio Kishida reiterated that “within the limits set by our pacifist constitution, Japan will keep its pledge to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and calls on Kyiv to also open channels for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.” The Japanese prime minister confirmed a new shipment of defense equipment to Kiev, notably an advanced drone detection system and 30 million euros in financial aid.
According to the Russian Telegram channel “War Donbass”, the last 20 modernized M109L 155mm self-propelled howitzers were delivered by the‘Italy to the Ukrainian Italian Armed Forces, completing the delivery of 60 howitzers in three different lots: the first two were delivered at the end of October 2022 and at the end of April this year.
The latest deliveries of US armored vehicles, announced in mid-June after the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, are also arriving in Kyiv. These are 77 M2 Bradley tracked combat vehicles and 67 wheeled 8×8 Strykers, also intended to replace losses sustained in battle.
Since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive 40 days ago, Russian forces have destroyed 1,244 enemy armored vehicles, including 17 German Leopard tanks and 12 US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (other vehicles of these two types would have been destroyed in the last 72 hours). the Zaporizhia Front, as the photos accompanying this article seem to confirm.
“Since June 4, we have destroyed 914 military vehicles, two anti-aircraft missile systems, 25 multiple rocket launchers, 403 field artillery systems and mortars,” Shoigu continued, adding that during the same period, Russian air defense also shot down 176 missiles launched from HIMARS, 27 Storm Shadow -Cruise missiles and 483 Ukrainian drones.
Photos: RAAF, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Rheinmetall, KMW and Telegram