Why weapons are being short in ukrain?

What kind of weaponry are being sent to Ukraine and why are there shortages?

Following months of delay the US House of Representatives has decided to provide Ukraine with military aid worth about $61 billion (£49 billion).

This would assist in supplying Ukraine with the shells and missiles it requires to prevent Russian forces from advancing in the battlefield.

What kind of military support has been offered to Ukraine?

The US military aid package was approved by the House of Representatives and will soon be referred to the Senate for approval before being signed into law by President Joe Biden.

At least $8 billion (£6.5 billion) will be used to resupply Ukraine with ammunition and missiles.

The warning came from Ukraine which said it needed the money "yesterday, not tomorrow, not today" and that it would be defeated without more support from the US.

The US provided Ukraine with $45.6 billion in military aid between February 2022 and January 2024 according to German research group Kiel Institute.

Germany contributed $19.1 billion, the UK $9.8 billion, Denmark $9.1 billion and the EU $6.1 billion.

What kind of weapons shortages is Ukraine experiencing and how bad is it?

The administration of US President Joe Biden has issued a warning that the military of Ukraine is low on morale and is running low on ammunition.

Missiles for air defence are one such deficit.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky the president of Ukraine the country needs seven more Patriots or similar air defence systems in order to protect its cities.

According to Dr. Marina Miron of King's College London this would enable Ukraine to counter Russia's glide bombs which it is using to pound defensive positions and civilian targets like power stations.

Additionally its military has been restricted to 2,000 rounds fired daily as per the UK-based research organisation the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi).

Rusi contrasts this by saying that Russian soldiers have been shooting up to 10,000 rounds per day and that Russia receives around three million shells annually from North Korea and its own manufacturers.

Due mostly to a shortage of weaponry Russia has taken control of 583 square kilometres (225 square miles) of terrain in eastern Ukraine from Ukrainian forces since October.

It claimed that the surrender of the town of Avdiivka in February was primarily due to a shortage of artillery ammunition and air defence.

By the beginning of March, the EU was supposed to have sent one million shells to Ukraine but it did not.

Nonetheless the Czech Republic reached a $1.5 billion agreement to purchase 800,000 rounds both 155mm and 122mm calibre from outside the EU on behalf of a consortium of 18 NATO and EU nations.

According to risk intelligence firm Sibylline's Justin Crump Ukraine may begin utilising more artillery shells from its stockpile if the US decides to resume ammunition supply.

Up until now Ukrainian forces have been rationing shell use because they haven't been able to tell when new supplies are coming according to him.

Which weaponry has Ukraine received from Western nations?

In response to Russia's invasion in February 2022 Western nations provided defensive armaments to Ukraine's armed forces in order to repel Russia's armoured brigades.

Thousands of Javelin and Nlaw anti-tank missiles were sent by the US and the UK.

These were thought to be essential in halting the Russian army's push towards Kiev.

Systems for air defence

Western countries gave Ukraine various types of air defence systems in response to Russian air superiority and its strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

These include the Patriot missile system and Starstreak the UK's short-range anti-aircraft weapon.

Germany has offered the Iris-T and the US and Norway have contributed the Nasams (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) for air defence.

Missiles and artillery

Following Russia's withdrawal from Kyiv the conflict shifted to the east of the nation. Both sides made heavy use of artillery and missiles.

Ammunition and M777 howitzers were provided to Ukraine by the US, Canada, Australia and other countries.

Additionally long-range missile systems like Himars and the M270 MLRS were supplied by the US and the UK.

Long-range missiles including Scalp from France, Storm Shadow from the UK and ATACMS from the US have also been sent to Ukraine.

In July 2023 the United States announced that it had sent Ukraine with cluster bombs to aid in forcing Russian troops out of their defensive positions.

These weapons which are mostly delivered by artillery shells disperse numerous bomblets and are prohibited in over 100 nations due to the potential harm they could bring to humans.

Drones

Throughout the conflict drones have played a significant role in targeting, surveillance, missile launch and kamikaze warfare.

At the beginning of the conflict Turkey deployed missile-firing Bayraktar TB2 drones the US supplied "Switchblade" kamikaze drones and a number of other nations sent commercial observation drones like the Chinese-made DJI Mavic 3.

In February the UK government announced that it will join a coalition of nations providing thousands of first person view drones to Ukraine for target spotting and observation.

Fighter aircraft

Ukraine has repeatedly requested fighter jets from the US to confront Russia's superior air power.

President Joe Biden consented in May 2023 to allow other countries to provide it with F-16s manufactured in the US.

Eleven Western nations have trained Ukrainian pilots to fly them and Denmark and the Netherlands will both send F-16s.