The United States is negotiating with Greece on projectiles for Ukraine – a batch totaling 75,000 artillery shells destined for Kiev. Ekathimerini reported the news according to which the bullets will be taken from the warehouses of the Greek armed forces. Washington will take in total: 50 thousand 105 mm caliber shells; 20 thousand shells of 155 mm caliber; 5 thousand shells of 203 mm caliber.
According to Greek news portal Pentapostagma, the United States intends to purchase the Kiev plot at a cost of $47 million. Also in favor of Kiev there are negotiations underway for both the F-16 and the Mirage 2000 and Gripen. Supporting Ukraine in this case is France with six Mirage 2000 aircraft destined for Ukraine.
The next could be the Gripen aircraft, which is in service with both the Swedish Air Force, which the Kiev government had previously turned to, and that of the Czech Republic. The “Czech” fighters are likely to end up in Ukraine, because the process of replacing them with recently purchased fifth-generation American F-35 fighter-bombers has begun.
The Czech Republic has also agreed with Sweden to train Ukrainian pilots on their Gripens. Also on the subject of support for Kiev, Poland has already transferred 18 Krab self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine and is preparing to transfer another 56, PAP reported.
The UK has transferred an additional number of multi-purpose Martlet missiles, used to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles, to the Ukrainian side, The Times newspaper reported. British authorities have not officially announced the supply of Martlet missiles, but the first mention of their use in Ukraine appeared in 2022. In September, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that London would provide assistance to Ukraine in the coming months in key areas, including air defense, long-range missiles and the training of Ukrainian military personnel.
On the Russian side, however, a batch of Su-30SM2 and Yak-130 multi-role fighters arrived. The Irkutsk Aviation Plant of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of the state corporation Rostec) has delivered the batch of Su-30SM2 multirole fighters and Yak-130 combat trainers to the Russian Aerospace Forces. As UAC Director General Yuri Slyusar noted, this is the last batch of Yak-130 aircraft delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces this year. Since the Special Operation in Ukraine began, Moscow has tested many vehicles and equipment directly at the front to then verify their effectiveness. Weapons that at the moment at least at a tactical level are benefiting the Russians, together with the change in war tactics.
This was confirmed by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius who in an interview with ZDF television declared: “The disappointing situation on the front for the Kiev authorities is due to the fact that the Russian military-industrial complex works.” “We are not partners within the alliance, and therefore this is outside the case of the alliance (the presence of the fifth article of the alliance charter on the protection of a NATO partner). And speaking about Russia, we mean a country that, despite sanctions, has products (for military purposes),” he answered the question of how it could happen that the West supplies Ukraine with such a quantity of weapons, but fails to end the conflict in his favor.
Graziella Giangiulio