The United States is set to send new military weapons to Ukraine this year as part of its efforts to support the country amid its war against Russia.
One of the country’s top ambassadors revealed that new weapons from the West are heading to Ukraine which would set a precedent for the expansion of NATO support for Kyiv in 2023.
In an official statement released by Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K. and a former foreign affairs minister, he claimed that the Ukrainian Embassy in London revealed the new Western military aid will include more advanced weapons, adding that it is inevitable and vital as part of its efforts to stop the conflict.
“Let’s bring it all up in a coordinated effort, and let’s see what this can do.” Prystaiko said.
He also added that “maybe it will be a breakthrough somewhere in the south, or the whole front will move because of the additional artillery pieces and tanks and everything. So much so that the Russians will decide that enough is enough.”
Ukraine needs sufficient Western weapons so "that the Russians will decide that enough is enough," Vadym Prystaiko told Newsweek. https://t.co/G2CZUIhrui
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 8, 2023
Just this week, Ukraine announced that a commitment from the U.S., France and Germany have been secured to transport new armored infantry fighting vehicles.
The country claimed that the aid would include Bradley, AMX-10 RC and Marder.
In addition, Germany also declared that it will send a U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missile platform. The country claimed that the weapon is the most expensive single system sent to Ukraine so far.
According to Prystaiko “we never expected a Patriot system. Seriously, this is a top of the line anti-ballistic missile system, which was totally out of the question. I guess tanks, helicopters and even planes are much easier now.”
He also added that the weapon would be a gradual evolution in military aid, adding that it “is the natural way.”
Prystaiko also revealed that the artillery systems have already been sent to Ukraine but they “were towed first, then they were self-propelled.”
“What is the difference between self-propelled artillery and a tank? What is the huge unsurmountable difference? There is none. So they will come,” he asked.
Ukraine and its NATO partners, he continued, must prepare to make sure such platforms can be adopted immediately. “Let’s train our pilots and mechanics now. People hear us and understand that.”
Moreover, in the statement, Prystaiko also said that “First of all, it allows us to take some of the weight off our shoulders, so we don’t have to distract our troops to prepare them. Second, the safety of training is increased somewhat, because Russians from time to time try to hit these bases somewhere deep in the West where we were training our conscripts.”
“And third, we’ve been exposed to more and more NATO culture altogether. So we’re becoming interoperable because we’re doing it on the ground. And that’s why I’m sure that whether the political decision is here or not now, we will be a part of NATO. People just have to get used to that,” he added.
Furthermore, Prystaiko claimed that some of Kyiv’s foreign partners found it very difficult “to get over this escalation thing,” adding that “Russians were threatening all of them with escalation.”
“There is not a consensus there yet. There are so many players with their own many different political views on how it’s going to all end. But the fact is that these light tanks or Patriot systems, these are interesting pieces. This is something,” he continued.
