TIME HAS COME TO SUPPLY UKRAINE WITH OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

To drive Russian forces out of occupied Ukrainian territories, Kyiv urgently needs more offensive weapons. This would help Ukraine lift the blockade on the cities of Chernihiv, Sumy, and Mariupol. And, most importantly, it would save the lives of civilians who are being held hostage by Russian troops.

1. Supply Ukraine with the Soviet-made weapons systems owned by formerly socialist NATO countries: Ukrainian soldiers are already familiar with this equipment, so they would not require training to use it.  Another option would be for the US to provide Ukraine with older equipment that the American military had removed from its inventory and replaced with more modern weapons.
2. Tanks and other armoured vehicles. Poland, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic together have several hundred T-72 tanks of various types, such as the Polish PT-91 Twardy. These tanks could significantly increase the offensive potential of Ukrainian ground forces.
3. Eastern European NATO countries have hundreds of Soviet-made armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. They would be especially useful for Ukraine’s territorial defence units, which lack vehicles of this kind. Armoured personnel carriers can markedly increase the mobility and manoeuvrability of territorial defence forces, thereby reducing the number of casualties they suffer. The US could provide the Ukrainian military with more M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Humvee armoured vehicles. These vehicles can be equipped with anti-tank systems such as the US-made Javelin, which the Ukrainian military has used to great effect.
4. Artillery. Artillery will play a key role in breaking through Russian lines with strikes on critical military facilities, such as command posts, ammunition dumps, and fuel depots. The Ukrainian army would greatly benefit from more weapons such as D-20 howitzers, Gvozdika self-propelled artillery units, and Grad multiple launch rocket systems.
5. Ukraine would benefit from supplies of tactical ballistic missile systems such as the Tochka-U, more than 20 of which are in service in Bulgaria. This is the longest-range weapons system in the Ukrainian army, which has repeatedly used it to destroy Russian equipment and command headquarters.
6. Attack aircraft. The Russian Air Force has a numerical advantage over its Ukrainian counterpart. That is why Ukraine has repeatedly asked NATO to provide it with the MiG-29 fighters that are still in service in Bulgaria and Poland. These requests primarily concerned the protection of Ukrainian airspace from Russian bombers. For offence, the Ukrainian Air Force could benefit from American A-10 attack aircraft. The US Air Force no longer needs these systems, as it is procuring more advanced F-35s. Ukrainian pilots could quickly learn how to fly A-10s.
7. Other military equipment. To coordinate the offensive, the Ukrainian military will need secure means of communication. It will also need night vision devices in great numbers. This would allow for offensive operations at night, which are particularly effective against Russian troops that lack such devices.

A prolonged confrontation would help Russia regroup, increase its military strength, and adapt to sanctions. The quicker Ukraine receives more military support from its allies, the greater its chances of driving Russian forces out of its territory.

Russia’s war of attrition results in hundreds of civilian casualties every day. This is why the Ukrainian army needs to seize the initiative to counterattack across the front line. Western supplies of offensive weapons can turn the tide of the conflict in Ukraine’s favour.