Tanks and combat aircraft will appear on battlefield, minister says
Oleksiy Reznikov on Western aid

WORLD  06 December 2022 - 14:02

Ukraine will receive Western tanks and combat aircraft from partners. But it should be understood, this is not just a matter of political negotiations, but technological and logistical ones.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov made the due statement on the air of the telethon, RBC-Ukraine reports.

Reznikov also spoke about the prospects for Ukraine to receive Patriot air defence systems.

"The fact is that Patriot is a medium-range air defence system, and NASAMS or IRIS-T are short-range, and there are even longer-range systems. It's gradual, Patriot systems are very complex, expensive, and very long in the making. Compare, we even got NASAMS and we're in the process of ordering new systems for us. We received IRIS-T from Germany and new systems are being produced. So this is an evolutionary path. A year ago we could not have imagined that we would have HIMARS, M270 systems, or 155mm caliber systems," Reznikov explained.

He stressed that one thing must be understood, "Ukraine's partners are very practical, pragmatic, and realistic."

"Therefore, they clearly understand that if they give some new system, they will realize that they have ammunition for them in their warehouses, missiles, repair systems, there are instructors as well as our trained servicemen," Reznikov said.

According to Ukrainian Defence Ministry, it all takes time, however, the main thing is that the partner industry is able to produce such arms.

"The same applies to Leopard tanks. Since there are 1st, 2nd and have different price and condition. Giving us two of those tanks is no big deal, but 100 would make a difference. So they have to be in good technical condition. So it is not just political negotiations, it is technological and logistical, but I remain an optimist and believe that there will be NATO standard tanks on the battlefield, and not only Leopard. Today we have more than 8 systems of 155-caliber from different countries fighting in artillery. I believe, we will have tanks and even combat aircraft," the minister concluded.

Caliber.Az