Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine

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Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine

POLITICS 26.02.2022

Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine

Mocked in some quarters for what sometimes seemed token efforts to support Ukraine's military in the face of the Russian threat, the West is starting to finally step up supplies of military equipment after the invasion.

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With Ukrainian forces putting up real resistance in the face of the Russian advance, Western officials say there is a genuine interest in ensuring President Vladimir Putin pays the maximum price for the invasion.

Germany in particular was criticised this month ahead the invasion for only stumping up some 5,000 helmets to send to Ukraine, a gesture that the mayor of Kyiv, former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, said had left him "speechless".

"What will they send us next? Pillows?" he asked the Bild daily.

France and other Western states were wary of arms deliveries they feared could provoke President Vladimir Putin into action at a time when diplomacy was still alive.

Since Putin unleashed the attack on Ukraine on February 24 however, everything has changed.

Germany said Saturday its army would transfer 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger-class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine, a U-turn from its longstanding policy of banning weapon exports to conflict zones.

France was also carrying out deliveries of defensive weapons to Kyiv, according to its military. Ukraine's embassy in Paris said it had in particular requested anti-aircraft hardware.

- 'Anti-war coalition' -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that "partners" were sending weapons to help Kyiv fight Russian troops, adding that he had spoken by phone with French leader Emmanuel Macron.

"Weapons and equipment from our partners are on the way to Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter. "The anti-war coalition is working!"

After the German announcement he tweeted: "Keep it up!"

On Saturday, Belgium announced it was providing 2,000 machine guns and 3,800 tons of fuel to the Ukrainian army.

The Dutch defence ministry said it had delivered sniper rifles and helmets, while 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles would be on their way as "soon as possible".

The Czech Republic meanwhile is delivering 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles, 3,000 machine guns, several dozen sniper guns and about a million cartridges.

The United States is providing Ukraine with $350 million in additional military equipment to fight off Russia's "brutal and unprovoked assault", Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday.

Britain has said it is ready to provide Ukraine with additional military support, including lethal defensive weapons.

But with military analysts saying that Moscow has not even used half of the some 180,000 troops massed on the Ukrainian border in Russia and its ally Belarus, it remains unclear whether this sudden surge of help can make a difference.

- 'No time to lose' -

The Russian defence ministry said Saturday the army had been given orders to broaden its offensive in Ukraine "from all directions" after Kyiv refused to hold talks in Belarus.

The problem is that few "genuinely believed" in a Russian invasion on all of Ukrainian territory -- "not even Zelensky", said General Vincent Desportes, a former director France's prestigious Ecole de guerre, which trains top officers.

Now, "everyone is doing what they can" but "no one has billions of extra armaments. All European armies are under-equipped", he told AFP.

"When you send 2,000 machine guns, you take them from your own stock. European armies are poor armies," Desportes said.

Western diplomats at NATO headquarters in Brussels say that even in the face of the Russian military there is an interest in slowing down the advance and making the invasion as costly for Putin as possible.

But after agreeing what to send to Ukraine there also remains the challenge of being able to get the equipment into the country and being able distribute it.

A French presidential official, who asked not to be named, said Paris was hoping that a combination of Ukrainian resistance combined with sanctions against Russia could together help force a ceasefire.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck lambasted the lack of Western help until now. Ukrainians, he said, "are also fighting for us. For our freedom, our sovereignty. So that we aren't next in line.

"Russia wants to destroy our world as we know it. We have to act now. We have no time to lose," he added.

T.Ward--TNT

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Russia a terrorist state threatening world peace!

n recent years, through its targeted and murderous warfare against Ukraine, the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure and mass deportations, the Russian Federation has become synonymous with anti-social, criminal state terrorism. This assessment is shared by many international observers, politicians and religious communities.In this context, the Ukrainian churches speak of a “terrorist state” because, during the winter of 2025/2026, the Russian military bombed energy facilities and residential areas at temperatures of minus twenty degrees in order to deprive millions of people of electricity, water and heating. Civilians in cities such as Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkiv are being terrorised by dozens of missiles and hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, whilst Russia, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, should in fact be ensuring peace.The blame for this horror lies with the mass murderer and war criminal Vladimir Putin (73), a ruthless dictator who, together with his criminal henchmen, is systematically re-educating an entire nation and reducing its people to murderous zombies!Alongside the systematic destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, there is the appalling practice of criminal child abductions. Since the 2022 invasion, international organisations estimate that more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia or taken to Russian-occupied territories, where they are turned into murderers and henchmen of the Russian terror regime in re-education camps. In this context, the children are being ‘Russified’; their names, language and homeland are being torn from them – an act that human rights lawyers classify as genocide. The United States is debating a bill in Congress that would officially designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism if these children are not returned. Senators describe the abduction campaign as one of the greatest crimes of our time and demand that there must be diplomatic and economic consequences. Outrage is also growing at European level, though the German government in particular is standing idly by, driven by the delusional madness of many sympathisers and mindless Putin apologists who have infiltrated German politics like a cancer.The European Parliament has already recognised Russia as a state that employs terrorist means and is calling for the isolation of the Kremlin. Religious leaders of various denominations condemn the attacks on energy facilities as ‘state terrorism’. They emphasise that the Russian leadership and those citizens who support the acts of war are morally complicit in crimes against humanity. The Ukrainian President points out that the targeted missile and drone strikes on power grids are intended to bring about a catastrophic winter. More than half of Ukraine’s gas infrastructure has been damaged; people are dying or losing their homes. The international community is responding with increasing pressure. In the US, cross-party initiatives are pushing to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism and to use frozen assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine. In Europe, MEPs are calling for the extension of the Magnitsky sanctions regime against Russian officials and the confiscation of Russian assets. Human rights organisations denounce the abductions of children, attacks on hospitals, schools and power stations, and the deportation of civilians as violations of all norms of international humanitarian law. Public opinion is predominantly characterised by horror and anger. Many commentators are calling for drastic sanctions, military support for Ukraine and the complete diplomatic isolation of Russia. However, there are also voices warning against escalation and calling for an end to hostilities through negotiations. Some fear that classifying Russia as a terrorist state could jeopardise peace negotiations, whilst others counter that there can be no security without clear consequences. Attention is also drawn to double standards, as other states have also waged wars without being classified as terrorist states. Nevertheless, the prevailing consensus is that the actions of the Russian leadership demonstrate an unprecedented level of brutality and pose a threat to world peace.

The National Times - Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine

Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine

Russia a terrorist state threatening world peace!

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