Logistical help provided by the West to Ukraine is another significant component in addition to the vast amount of aid weapons.
The US Transportation Command has made a visual public that shows the precise quantity of weapons and equipment that has been sent to Ukraine. This White House image shows the availability of goods from January 11, 2022, to January 3, 2023.
The most obvious aspect is the enormous amount of aid that requires the US to convey via ships and rail systems. Additionally, this is how the US supplied Ukraine with more than 1 million 155mm artillery shells and other types of munitions.
These shipments pass through the Greek port of Alexandroupolis and the Romanian port of Constanta, where a recent discovery involved a convoy of US M1117 armoured vehicles bound for Ukraine.
The size of the “air bridge” between the United States and the Boryspil airport in Kyiv(before to the conflict) and the Rzeszów airport in Poland (following the conflict’s onset) is especially noteworthy. As a result, on average 3 aircraft transport supplies to and from these airports each day. Approximately 5,500 journeys each year involve the usage of trucks for “last mile transportation.” This illustrates how extensive the logistics network is.
The media typically concentrates solely on the quantity of heavy equipment given to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, it’s also crucial to have the specialised gear Ukraine requires for the initial phase of the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces.
More than 48,000 helmets, 70,000 bulletproof vests, more than 14,400 small guns, and 201.7 million rounds of ammunition are thought to have been given to Ukraine by the US. More than 1,400 air defence systems, including mobile launchers, advanced surface-to-air missile systems (NASAMS), and 2,086 surface-to-air missiles, are also included on the aid list.
However, the massive US logistics assistance operation has so far operated covertly behind the scenes, and for a variety of reasons, observers have not been able to determine the precise amount of these shipments. One of these is the International Donor Coordination Center (IDCC), which conceals every supply channel used by the Ukrainian army.
Of fact, the US Transportation Command does not report on all military aid sent to Ukraine; it simply reports on its own activities. Along with the US, several other Western nations are attempting to provide for all the demands of the Ukrainian armed forces.
For instance, Poland assisted in the logistical movement of M-55S tanks from Slovenia to Ukraine, while Britain actively moved cargo there and occasionally needed the assistance of New Zealand-based transport aircraft.
The Pentagon mostly used cargo planes to transfer aid to the Ukrainian government during the early phases of the military war in Ukraine. Weeks after hostilities started, Washington started sending weaponry to Ukraine via maritime channels. After that, as Washington started sending howitzers and other heavy weapons to Kyiv, the method of shipment by sea significantly increased.
Army Colonel Steven Putthoff, deputy commander of US Transportation Command, said, “When we started sending howitzers to Kiev, we realised they were going to need more ammo.” So, after careful planning, we began to export more goods to support Kyiv, occasionally accomplishing our objectives before the request.
Analysts point out that while ships can handle more weapons, aircraft can transport weapons from the US to Europe far more quickly. As Ukraine and its allies get ready for what is anticipated to be a confrontation, The Washington Post notes that the Pentagon’s change in weapon delivery heralds a new phase of the conflict. intense, and may persist for years or several months.
U.S. defence officials refused to provide specifics on the maritime lanes taken to transport weapons to Ukraine. According to officials, some of the weaponry augmented US stockpiles in Europe that had previously transferred weapons to Ukraine, while others were delivered directly from the US to the battlefield.
The US is Ukraine’s main source of armaments. Russia has given Ukraine millions of dollars in military and financial aid, as well as intelligence information, since it began its special military operation. The number of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, HIMARS missile launchers, M777 cannons, and unmanned combat aircraft that the US has sent to the Ukrainian military is in the thousands.
Russia has often expressed concern over the “pumping” of arms into Ukraine by the US and its allies, claiming that this only serves to prolong the crisis and raises the possibility of direct conflict between Moscow and NATO. Additionally, Russia declared that it will regard Western arms deliveries to Kyiv as acceptable targets of its attacks.
