Arming Ukraine to "defeat" the Russians

From a steady, cautious start, the arming of Ukraine by the US and dozens of other countries has become a full-blown weapons bonanza that has transformed the ability of the Kyiv government to defend against and even potentially defeat the Russian invaders. The flow of weapons from heavy artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles to anti-tank and anti-air missiles, night-vision goggles, ammunition, helmets and protective clothing, has increased so rapidly that it has become the biggest military aid programme in modern times. Moscow has accused Nato and alliance partners of engaging in a proxy war against Russia but Kyiv's international supporters have continued to emphasise that the objective has always been to help Ukraine defend itself against a superior, aggressive and unlawful invasion force. The value of the arms production line to Ukraine as well economic and humanitarian aid, exceeds the total defence budget of the United Kingdom, currently 46 billion pounds. Leading the field in weapons supplies by a wide margin is the US, followed by Poland, Germany, the UK, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Italy, France and Sweden, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a think-tank in Germany which has been tracking funding for Ukraine. Even the US began cautiously, wary of provoking President Putin into escalating his war aims. But all caution has been dropped. The majority of weapons on the shopping list of President Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader, who updates it almost on a daily basis, have been provided. The US pledge of more than 4 billion dollars in military aid and a vast increase in arms supplies in the pipeline, includes more than 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 5,500 Javelin anti-tank systems, 90 155mm M777 howitzers with 183,000 shells, 16 Mi-17 helicopters, 20 armoured personnel carriers, 50 million rounds of ammunition, laser-guided rockets, Phoenix Ghost tactical drones and more than 700 Switchblade killer drones. With such a heavyweight supply of arms, the US appears step by step to have moved towards a different objective: not just assisting Zelensky to protect his country's sovereignty but also to weaken Russia's military overall to prevent Putin from rearming in order to launch further offensives in the future. Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, was the first member of the Biden administration to voice this secondary objective in public. Europe, with the exception of the UK and the countries on Nato's eastern flank with the most to fear from Putin's ambitions, has been slower to match the Americans. However, as the war has continued, European countries have begun to catch up, not least Germany which overcame political and historical self-restraint to move from the supply of helmets to promises of artillery and other heavy weapons. Nearly all of Nato countries have supplied arms, despite some domestic reservations. Italy for example has faced a divided public on the question of sending arms to Ukraine and yet Rome has sent military vehicles and other equipment. The UK has stood out as one of the staunchest and most committed of arms suppliers, sending millions of pounds worth of weapons including anti-tank missiles, anti-air missile systems, armoured vehicles, night vision equipment and body armour. Hungary, with a leader still wedded to past Russian allegiances, has been reluctant to consider arming Ukraine. But other Nato nations in eastern Europe have leapt to the defence of Ukraine: for example, Poland has sent 240 T-72 tanks and the Czech Republic, several dozen T-72s. Elsewhere in the alliance, Canada has sent M777 towed howitzers. The Netherlands is also sending howitzers. France which was among European nations which initially reacted slowly warmed to the western campaign and is now in the process of sending 155mm Caesar howitzers that can fire shells at ranges of more than 25 miles. Last month Spain and Denmark promised to send more weapons to Ukraine, Portugal has sent 70 tonnes of weapons, ammunition, helmets and protective jackets, and Belgium has provided 200 anti-tank weapons and 5,000 automatic weapons.