What weapons has Ukraine received from its Western allies?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent out another desperate plea on Wednesday to Western countries for more weapons and supplies to “repel Russian forces and stop their war crimes.”
Zelensky has repeatedly asked NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine in a bid to stop the brutal bombardment from Kremlin-led forces. Although the international alliance has denied Zelensky’s request, Ukraine’s allies have sent billions of dollars in munitions and military assistance. But what has each country promised to deliver, and what has already been sent?
What did the U.S. send?
On Wednesday, President Biden authorized an $800 million military aid package for Ukraine. The shipment includes a wide range of weapons to help Kyiv fight against Russia’s military — the second strongest in the world.
The newly announced assistance has the following:
11 Mi-17 helicopters
18 155 mm howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds
10 AN/TPQ-36 counter-artillery radars
Two AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air surveillance radars
300 Switchblade tactical unmanned aerial systems, otherwise known as armed drones
500 Javelin antitank missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems
200 M113 armored personnel carriers
100 armored Humvees
Unmanned coastal defense vessels
Equipment to protect from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contaminants
Medical equipment
30,000 sets of body armor and helmets
Over 2,000 optics and laser rangefinders
C-4 explosives and demolition equipment for obstacle clearing
M18A1 Claymore antipersonnel munition configured to be consistent with the Ottawa Convention
American soldiers will also be directly training Ukrainian troops on how to use the more advanced weaponry such as the surveillance radar and the counter-artillery radar. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby has said training may be done by U.S. soldiers in Europe. On Wednesday, the Defense Department said the U.S. “has now committed $3.2 billion in security assistance” to help Ukraine since Biden took office, with $2.6 billion committed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
"The Administration is working around the clock to fulfill Ukraine's priority security assistance requests, delivering weapons from U.S. stocks when they are available, and facilitating the delivery of weapons by allies and partners when their systems better suit Ukraine's needs," a Defense Department memo stated earlier this month. The document also gave specific counts of the weapons that have been sent to Ukraine.
This includes:
Over 1,400 Stinger antiaircraft systems
Over 5,000 Javelin anti-armor systems
Over 7,000 other anti-armor systems
Hundreds of Switchblade drones
Over 7,000 small arms
Over 50 million rounds of ammunition
45,000 sets of body armor and helmets
Laser-guided rocket systems
Puma unmanned aerial systems, otherwise known as hand-launched lightweight drones
Four counter-artillery and counter-unmanned aerial system tracking radars
Four counter-mortar radar systems
Armored Humvees
Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems and optics
Tactical secure communications systems
Commercial satellite imagery services
Explosive ordnance disposal protective gear
Medical supplies, including first aid kits
Along with the Pentagon, U.S. civilians have been donating munitions to the Ukrainian defense. One Florida-based company, KelTec, shipped more than $200,000 worth of rifles after a client in Odesa, Ukraine, was no longer in contact. In Colorado, more than 25 state law agencies donated nearly 840 sets of body armor and more than 1,000 helmets.
What about the U.K.?
Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. would send weapons worth $132 million to Ukraine. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed to Sky News that the country would send Mastiff armored vehicles to assist the Ukrainian defense.
“We will be sending armored vehicles, protective armored vehicles — such as Mastiff — to make sure that Ukraine has that support,” he said. “It’s very important that we do what we can to help Ukraine, and where they ask us for equipment, if we’ve got it or we can help other people provide it, we’ll do that.”
Since January, Britain has sent:
More than 4,000 NLAWs, or next-generation light antitank weapons
Small number of Javelin missiles
Starstreak anti-air missiles
3,000 sets of body armor
2,000 helmets
4,000 boots
Thousands of ear defenders and sleeping mats
What have other countries sent to Ukraine?
According to Politico, more than 25 nations in total have helped to buy and send weapons to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion. Germany sent 1,000 antitank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles, while the Czech Republic confirmed to Reuters that it had successfully delivered multiple rocket launchers, howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. Defense sources told Reuters that five T-72 tanks and five BVP-1, or BMP-1, infantry fighting vehicles were already spotted in Ukraine, though that was from the first shipments of equipment.
Sweden Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted in February that Sweden would send “5,000 anti-tank weapons, 5,000 helmets, 5,000 body shields and 135,000 field rations.” Finland, which along with Sweden has remained neutral, made the “historic” decision to supply weapons to Ukraine. Finland said it would send 150,000 rounds of ammunition, 1,500 rocket launchers, 2,500 assault rifles and 70,000 servings of field rations.
Belgium, Portugal and Denmark sent a mixture of automatic rifles, antitank weapons, night-vision goggles and G3 rifles. Slovakia dispatched S-300 air defense systems from its own arsenal, while Estonia confirmed the shipment of nine D-30 122 mm towed howitzers, as well as hundreds of shells. By March 2, Spain had already sent 20 tons of medical and military supplies to Kyiv and confirmed it would send 700,000 munitions, 1,370 grenade launchers and light automatic weapons.
From Turkey, Ukraine received dozens of Turkish-made weapons called Bayraktar TB2 drones. The first shipments of these $2 million drones arrived in Ukraine in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ukraine’s air force confirmed in the first week of the war that two strikes made against Russian targets were from the drones. In a post on Facebook, the chief of Ukraine’s air force, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, called the weapons “life-giving.” The drones can stay in midair for 24 hours and can reach an altitude of 25,000 feet.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison committed $70 million to Ukraine in missiles and ammunition in early March. “The overwhelming majority of that [$70 million] will be in the lethal category,” Morrison said. “We are talking missiles, ammunition, we are talking supporting them in their defense of their own homeland in Ukraine.” It is unknown what exact weapons were on the list to be given to Ukraine.
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How are Ukrainian forces taking out so many Russian tanks?
Use this embed to learn about some of the weapons systems the U.S. is sending to the Ukrainian army.