This is one of the few public clips of a
Ukrainian soldier firing a next generation light anti tank weapon.
An end law, and this is what it can do.
It means just one Ukrainian can take out a Russian
tank or armored vehicle.
Thousands of end laws were supplied by the UK and
Luxembourg,
while numerous countries have sent other kinds of anti tank
weapons.
We counted up all of the military aid promised Ukraine
in just the first week of war.
The European Union and 27 countries committed more than a
billion dollars worth of weapons and supplies for the fight.
What could have taken? Months of bureaucratic approvals,
political maneuvering and logistical coordination happened in a matter of
days.
So why did so many countries race to arm Ukraine?
What did they send and what is it all worth?
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.
Within 24 hours, Lithuania, Poland,
France, Estonia and the United States all announced military aid
for Ukraine.
Biden approved $350 million in military aid
That became the largest single transfer of arms from US
warehouses to another country ever.
It was the start of a flood of military supplies
sent to Ukraine in just the first week of war,
as protests around the world called for an end to
the invasion
and the Internet erupted over claims that the US offered
a different kind of help to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
The chance to be evacuated,
Zelensky reportedly answered. I need ammunition,
not a ride. On February 26th 10 more countries announced
they would send aid including Stinger missiles,
helmets, machine guns and fuel.
Many shipments broke country's long standing traditions of not sending
weapons to active war zones.
Berlin reversed course to send 1000 anti tank weapons and
500 surface to air missiles.
On February 27th 6 more countries announced millions worth of
military shipments,
including five thousand anti tank weapons.
By the 5th day a Russian military convoy was headed
directly towards Kiev.
For the first time in its history,
the European Union financed and purchased weapons for a country
outside its borders to the tune of
$505 million.
Europeans saw a much bigger danger in the invasion.
The target is not only Ukraine,
The target is the stability in Europe
and the whole of the international peace order
and we will hold President Putin accountable for that.
By the end of the first week,
the US and NATO had sent more than
17,000 anti tank weapons like this.
Swedish made 84.
Some of what the EU and US sent are newer
weapons like Javelin and Stinger missiles.
But much of the military equipment shipped by European countries
is older weapons from the Soviet era.
When Germany said we're going to deliver a couple of
1000
air defense missiles, those were things which they had inherited
from the from the GDR.
So these are things which are 30 years old
or more.
It's something of a benefit,
since Ukrainian troops were largely trained on Soviet era weapons.
At the end of the first week,
Russian forces had seized a city in the South,
but Ukrainians were holding on to the capital.
He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world
would roll over.
Instead, he met with a mall,
a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined.
In the months leading up to the current conflict,
the United States sent military equipment in anticipation of prolonged
street fighting.
Three weeks after Russia's invasion,
the US promised Ukraine another $1 billion
in weapons and supplies. the US also announced
$6.5 billion in military spending on the crisis,
which includes sending more troops to Europe.
There were already 9000 U.S.
troops stationed on the Polish side of the border,
and other NATO members have doubled up on troops in
Eastern Europe.
It's a significant show of strength from a bloc of
allies whose history helps explain how this conflict was sparked
in the 1st place,
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed after World
War
212 countries banded together to counter the Soviet Union during
the Cold War.
It was a mutual defense pact.
Attacking one NATO country meant attacking all of them.
Ukraine isn't a part of NATO,
but after the fall of the Soviet Union in
1991, he gave up thousands of nuclear weapons in exchange
for a guarantee of security by the Usuk and Russia.
Starting in 1999, NATO brought in countries that had been
part of the former Soviet bloc,
like Poland and Hungary.
The continued expansion has made Putin furious.
He's made his case by claiming Western leaders promised not
to expand NATO,
even though there never was an agreement not to expand.
And
back in 2008, after NATO's secretary general promised Georgia and
Ukraine that they could one day become members,
Putin invaded Georgia. Six years later,
he annexed part of Ukraine and has since demanded that
Ukraine be blocked from ever joining NATO.
Biden has said that the US would fight back if
any NATO country was attacked,
but that U.S. troops will not enter Ukraine.
So without NATO troops or airpower,
can this military aid turn the tide?
Ukraine's military spending was roughly 110th of Russia's in 2020,
and their military counts 209,000 active members,
less than 1/4 of the size of Russia's armed forces.
The tank war is also uneven.
That's why Javelin and enlaw missiles have become such an
important part of the war.
Russian tanks have serious problems dealing with these things.
So you run around in Russian tank units,
you will think, where are those javelins and
when are they going to hit me?
Ukrainians have used them to destroy numerous tanks and armored
vehicles so far,
but it's in the air where Russia truly dominates.
Russia has more than 1500 jets
to Ukraine's 100, and that's what makes Stinger missiles so
crucial.
It's a surface to air shoulder fired weapon that can
take down low flying fighter jets or attack helicopters.
But Stingers can only do so much.
Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky asked NATO for a no fly
zone,
something NATO rejected completely.
Is there a yap of Tories No yakshuvui nez a
creator nasha Nebo to tell us a Britannia chasakal.
But to enforce a no fly zone,
NATO would have to fire on Russian planes that violate
the zone.
NATO would also need to destroy Russian surface to air
missile defenses on the ground.
All of that could risk a broader war with Russia.
One month after the start of the war,
Ukraine still controlled Kiev. There's much talk of Ukraine's resilience,
but the question remains if they can stand up to
Russia alone,
even with all this extra firepower.