- cross-posted to:
- ukraine@lemmit.online
- cross-posted to:
- ukraine@lemmit.online
Ukraine has begun using longer-range ballistic missiles against Russia that were secretly provided by the US, American officials have confirmed.
The weapons were sent as part of a previous US support package, and arrived this month. Officials said they were not announced publicly to maintain Ukraine’s “operational security”.
They have already been used at least once to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea.
Further US aid is now heading to Kyiv.
More American weaponry is expected to be sent imminently, after President Joe Biden signed off on Wednesday a new package of economic and military support for Ukraine worth $61bn (£49bn).
You must log in or register to comment.
Slava Ukraini!
I hate that the U.S. had to give Israel a bunch of money too, but at least Ukraine is going to have a chance!
Cool. I hope they can beat back Russia and retake Crimea, but it’s not going to be easy.
The Russia’s military budget is not quite clear, but for 2024 the most cited number I see is $140B. ~2.5 times larger than this bill. If we include the fact that purchase parity would adjust this to even larger difference, on can see that at this point of funding Ukraine can think only about maintaining status quo at best.
Ukraine should be getting support from more than just the US though, if you include their own military budget and EU funding what would the total number be?
Ukraine defense spending in 2024 is $40B. It is not easy to find total number from all EU countries, but historically they give significantly less for military spending for Ukraine. There is big 50B package from EU, but it is mostly economical and over 4 years. But let me overestimate and suggest 20B as military aid for Ukraine. All together is $120B and is still less than what Russia spends and it is before accounting for purchasing parity. US, and especially EU countries should significantly increase military help for Ukraine to push back. And while EU countries increased military spending it is just not enough.
I mean US spent trillions in Iraq, more spending doesn’t mean more effective.
US won Iraq war militarily well before it spend even half a trillion. US failed at reconstruction.
I know the EU/Nato wants to pass another 60ish billion to Ukraine as well so that would make things more similar. BTW this is with dollars that can be used to pay for products almost anywhere in the world vs Russia’s ruple which isn’t as easily accepted throughout the world, and also the fact that they’re basically embargo’d by most of the world. So really, that 140 billion figure is worth less than what MxM11 said.
Weirdly, they only focus on budget instead of mentioning the fact that Russia is losing more soldiers than Ukraine is (meat shield strategy) which is of course counteracted by the fact that Russia has about 4 times the population than Ukraine, but also technologies being used in the battlefield (Ukraine is increasingly using more advanced technologies as the war continues, while Russia is doing the opposite).
Things aren’t looking great for Ukraine, but they aren’t looking any better for Russia either. Considering that Russia is 2 years into a war that, according to them, should have only taken a couple of days. Things will get worse as Russia tries to control more Ukrainian land, as taking control of land is one thing, but maintaining it from people that don’t like you is also hard work.
Sure, but also keep in mind how much of that budget will be redirected to yachts and dachas.
And that’s just the high level corruption. There’s more theft, bribery and fraud at every level. With each step in the procurement process, another chunk of that budget is negated.
Also, at least historically, a lot of Russia’s budget goes to things that aren’t playing a primary role in the fight for Ukraine, like their nuclear arsenal, a lot of their navy, and big R&D projects that produce little more than the appearance of a modern military.
Russia’s money has to cover their global assets. Ukraine is only focused on Ukraine.
Get 'em!!
ATACMS is a beast. They look like rockets: https://mil.in.ua/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot_3-10.jpg
I mean, they are rockets
Yes, but they look like one too.
Exactly. The ones that fit in the 6-pack look like missiles. These look like a real rocket.
To be fair, these are missiles too.
But do they look like projectiles?
Yes. Everyone knows a rocket must have a pointy end
The missiles were used for the first time by the Ukrainians on April 17, during an attack on the Russian Dzahnkoi Air Base in the Crimea. The next day they used them on a Russian mustering point in the Crimea.
