Ukraine is ‘freaking out’ as McCarthy chaos threatens US aid
After the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, there is concern in Kyiv that Ukraine has become a tool of US domestic politics.
In Kyiv, officials are at a loss as to what might happen next. Their staunchest military ally suddenly looks unreliable, despite assurances from President Biden and others the U.S. will remain steadfast until Ukraine’s invaders are defeated.
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“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a senior Ukrainian MP who chairs the committee on the country’s integration with the European Union.
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However, now that McCarthy is out, all future U.S. funding for Kyiv is in limbo. It is not clear when a new speaker will be chosen and without one, the American law making machine is stalled.
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“Well, that’s a setup,” one Ukrainian MP told POLITICO.
“Honestly, we are watching for now,” said one Ukrainian government official, who asked not to be identified while discussing sensitive matters.
Ukrainian officials typically avoid expressing public criticism of partners so as not to seem ungrateful. But this week some have expressed shock.
“There is nothing good, but, objectively, we have simply become hostages of their internal politics,” said Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, first deputy chairman of the parliament committee on finance, after the emergency U.S. budget deal was announced.
After the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, there is concern in Kyiv that Ukraine has become a tool of US domestic politics.
In Kyiv, officials are at a loss as to what might happen next. Their staunchest military ally suddenly looks unreliable, despite assurances from President Biden and others the U.S. will remain steadfast until Ukraine’s invaders are defeated.
...
“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a senior Ukrainian MP who chairs the committee on the country’s integration with the European Union.
...
However, now that McCarthy is out, all future U.S. funding for Kyiv is in limbo. It is not clear when a new speaker will be chosen and without one, the American law making machine is stalled.
...
“Well, that’s a setup,” one Ukrainian MP told POLITICO.
“Honestly, we are watching for now,” said one Ukrainian government official, who asked not to be identified while discussing sensitive matters.
Ukrainian officials typically avoid expressing public criticism of partners so as not to seem ungrateful. But this week some have expressed shock.
“There is nothing good, but, objectively, we have simply become hostages of their internal politics,” said Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, first deputy chairman of the parliament committee on finance, after the emergency U.S. budget deal was announced.
Britain has ‘run out of arms to send to Ukraine’
We’ve given away all we can afford and other countries should step in, says senior military chief
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The Western alliance has suffered a series of blows in recent days, with support for Ukraine dropped from a US stop-gap budget bill, election success for a pro-Russian party in Slovakia and rows between Poland and Kyiv over grain supplies.
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Last night a senior military source told The Telegraph that the onus should not be on the UK to provide the “billions” Mr Wallace has called for.
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“We’ve given away just about as much as we can afford,” they added.
“We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defence assets and artillery ammunition and we’ve run dry on all that.”
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‘Every tank we give is one less we have’
The military chief said there was no prospect of providing more British tanks to Ukraine.
“We’ve given away pretty much everything we can afford to give,” they added.
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Brussels last month overtook the US in promised aid to Kyiv, with European commitments now twice as large, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank that has been tracking funding for Ukraine.
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Hungary, whose leader celebrated Mr Fico’s victory, was also holding up a planned €500 million tranche of funding to help EU member states pay for weapons donations.
Its opposition has also dealt a blow to a planned €20 billion war chest from EU nations for Ukraine to buy weapons for the next four years, highlighting the challenges faced by the West.
We’ve given away all we can afford and other countries should step in, says senior military chief
...
The Western alliance has suffered a series of blows in recent days, with support for Ukraine dropped from a US stop-gap budget bill, election success for a pro-Russian party in Slovakia and rows between Poland and Kyiv over grain supplies.
...
Last night a senior military source told The Telegraph that the onus should not be on the UK to provide the “billions” Mr Wallace has called for.
...
“We’ve given away just about as much as we can afford,” they added.
“We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defence assets and artillery ammunition and we’ve run dry on all that.”
...
‘Every tank we give is one less we have’
The military chief said there was no prospect of providing more British tanks to Ukraine.
“We’ve given away pretty much everything we can afford to give,” they added.
...
Brussels last month overtook the US in promised aid to Kyiv, with European commitments now twice as large, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank that has been tracking funding for Ukraine.
...
Hungary, whose leader celebrated Mr Fico’s victory, was also holding up a planned €500 million tranche of funding to help EU member states pay for weapons donations.
Its opposition has also dealt a blow to a planned €20 billion war chest from EU nations for Ukraine to buy weapons for the next four years, highlighting the challenges faced by the West.
Quote from: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/02/ukraine-looks-to-arm-itself-as-western-support-slips-00119528
‘It’s a survival issue’: Ukraine looks to arm itself as Western support slips
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Ukraine finds its supporters running out of weapons to send while others are increasingly wary of committing more money to the conflict.
With the charm offensive directed at weapons-makers around the world, the country is effectively trying to take matters into its own hands.
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“It’s a survival issue,” said Pavel Verkhniatskyi, managing partner at COSA Intelligence Solutions in Kyiv, since there is only so long Ukraine can expect to rely on donations from partners whose support can be switched off with a single election.
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It’s all part of a larger and growing refrain among Ukrainian officials, which is “we will have to become an Israel in Europe — self-sufficient but with help from other countries,” said Daniel Vajdich, president of Yorktown Solutions, which advocates on behalf of Ukraine in Washington.
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Leaders in Kyiv want that day to come sooner rather than later, an urgency that’s been bolstered by comments from several Western officials over the past few weeks that weapons are running out and allies haven’t significantly ramped up their production lines to keep up with demand.
“We cannot keep on giving from our own stockpiles,” said one European official, who like others quoted in this story was granted anonymity to speak frankly about a politically sensitive issue.
The official added that there is still robust public and political support for Ukraine’s fight, but “we’ve given everything that will not endanger our own security.”
After 18 months of intense, industrial-scale combat, European stockpiles are running dry, though hope is rising that countries can work together to find more solutions, one Biden administration official said.
“After two years we need now to have another discussion because we cannot give, give, give and see our systems going down for Ukraine,” Gen. Stéphane Mille, chief of staff of the French Air and Space Force, recently told reporters in Washington.
Adding to the troubles was Poland’s recent declaration that it would pause donations to Ukraine in order to shore up its own capabilities.
The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for U.S.-made weapons systems to be placed under contract, has already run out of money. The Defense Department still has $5.4 billion worth of weapons available to send to Ukraine, but is fast running out of money to replenish its own stockpiles, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
There are still plenty of questions over how much defense production can happen in Ukraine while Russian missiles and Iranian drones continue to target critical infrastructure, but the war shows no signs of slowing even as partner nations worry about what they have left to give.
...
Ukraine finds its supporters running out of weapons to send while others are increasingly wary of committing more money to the conflict.
With the charm offensive directed at weapons-makers around the world, the country is effectively trying to take matters into its own hands.
...
“It’s a survival issue,” said Pavel Verkhniatskyi, managing partner at COSA Intelligence Solutions in Kyiv, since there is only so long Ukraine can expect to rely on donations from partners whose support can be switched off with a single election.
...
It’s all part of a larger and growing refrain among Ukrainian officials, which is “we will have to become an Israel in Europe — self-sufficient but with help from other countries,” said Daniel Vajdich, president of Yorktown Solutions, which advocates on behalf of Ukraine in Washington.
...
Leaders in Kyiv want that day to come sooner rather than later, an urgency that’s been bolstered by comments from several Western officials over the past few weeks that weapons are running out and allies haven’t significantly ramped up their production lines to keep up with demand.
“We cannot keep on giving from our own stockpiles,” said one European official, who like others quoted in this story was granted anonymity to speak frankly about a politically sensitive issue.
The official added that there is still robust public and political support for Ukraine’s fight, but “we’ve given everything that will not endanger our own security.”
After 18 months of intense, industrial-scale combat, European stockpiles are running dry, though hope is rising that countries can work together to find more solutions, one Biden administration official said.
“After two years we need now to have another discussion because we cannot give, give, give and see our systems going down for Ukraine,” Gen. Stéphane Mille, chief of staff of the French Air and Space Force, recently told reporters in Washington.
Adding to the troubles was Poland’s recent declaration that it would pause donations to Ukraine in order to shore up its own capabilities.
The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for U.S.-made weapons systems to be placed under contract, has already run out of money. The Defense Department still has $5.4 billion worth of weapons available to send to Ukraine, but is fast running out of money to replenish its own stockpiles, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
There are still plenty of questions over how much defense production can happen in Ukraine while Russian missiles and Iranian drones continue to target critical infrastructure, but the war shows no signs of slowing even as partner nations worry about what they have left to give.
Quote from: https://www.businessinsider.com/western-armor-not-designed-for-intense-conflict-like-ukraine-analyst-2023-9
Western-made armor is failing in Ukraine because it wasn't designed to sustain a conflict of this intensity, a military analyst told The Wall Street Journal.
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"If you throw it into a mass offensive, it just doesn't perform," he said.
Chmut went on to say Ukraine's Western allies should instead turn their attention to delivering simpler and cheaper systems, but in larger quantities, something Ukraine has repeatedly requested, the newspaper reported.
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Less than 5% of tanks destroyed since the start of the war had been taken out by other tanks, Ukrainian officials said in the Journal report, with the rest falling to mines, artillery, antitank missiles, and drones. This means the relative sophistication of a tank is no longer as important, the paper says.
Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding, Germany's director of planning and command staff, said Western military strategists had not yet accepted that quantity trumps quality.
"You need numbers; you need force numbers. In the West, we have reduced our military; we have reduced our stocks. But quantity matters; mass matters," he told the Journal.
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A July report compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said Ukraine's allies had only delivered about half of the heavy weapons that had been promised.
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Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the German think tank European Resilience Initiative Center, previously told Insider that Ukraine was stepping up its domestic production in part because of concern that Western deliveries would not keep up with its military needs.
...
"If you throw it into a mass offensive, it just doesn't perform," he said.
Chmut went on to say Ukraine's Western allies should instead turn their attention to delivering simpler and cheaper systems, but in larger quantities, something Ukraine has repeatedly requested, the newspaper reported.
...
Less than 5% of tanks destroyed since the start of the war had been taken out by other tanks, Ukrainian officials said in the Journal report, with the rest falling to mines, artillery, antitank missiles, and drones. This means the relative sophistication of a tank is no longer as important, the paper says.
Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding, Germany's director of planning and command staff, said Western military strategists had not yet accepted that quantity trumps quality.
"You need numbers; you need force numbers. In the West, we have reduced our military; we have reduced our stocks. But quantity matters; mass matters," he told the Journal.
...
A July report compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said Ukraine's allies had only delivered about half of the heavy weapons that had been promised.
...
Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the German think tank European Resilience Initiative Center, previously told Insider that Ukraine was stepping up its domestic production in part because of concern that Western deliveries would not keep up with its military needs.
And now Israel will be competing for resources, funds, intel satellite time etc... Politicians will act surprised and will be convincing people that no one could've possibly predicted such outcome, blame games will ensure, and everything will be done to prevent Ukrainians from even questioning any of this
literary to bomb them into NATO submission 
