ISW: Delayed Western weapons hamper Ukraine's new brigade equipment

WORLD  04 July 2024 - 10:38

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said that Ukraine is addressing its manpower challenges and is forming several new brigades, but delayed and insufficient Western weapons deliveries will likely prevent Ukraine from equipping all these new brigades.

Timely and appropriate Western security assistance continues to be a crucial determinant of when and at what scale Ukrainian forces can contest the battlefield initiative and conduct operationally significant counteroffensive operations in the future, Caliber.Az reports citing the ISW’s report. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with Bloomberg published on July 3 that Ukrainian forces are better positioned in terms of manpower than they were a few months ago and that Ukraine's ability to conduct a future counteroffensive operation depends on equipping brigades with heavy equipment, such as mechanized fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, tanks, and heavy artillery likely referencing at least 10 planned new Ukrainian brigades.

The commander of a Ukrainian brigade operating near Chasiv Yar provided a similar assessment at the tactical level on July 3, stating that Ukrainian forces in his area of operations are more in need of ammunition than manpower.

Zelenskyy stated that military equipment is taking too long to arrive at the front, however, echoing his comments from early June 2024 about how the slow arrival of US security assistance was complicating Ukrainian efforts to equip reserve brigades sufficiently to commit them to defensive operations.

Ukrainian media has routinely highlighted in recent months the lack of sufficient materiel for equipping all the new Ukrainian brigades currently being formed, and current reporting suggests that Ukraine will not be able to fully equip all their upcoming brigades without the arrival of additional Western security assistance. The months-long delay of Western security assistance exacerbated challenges with Ukraine’s force mobilization efforts.

The Russia-Ukraine war escalated dramatically on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This conflict has since become the largest and most intense military engagement in Europe since World War II, involving widespread destruction, significant civilian casualties, and massive displacement of people.

By mid-2022, Ukrainian forces began launching successful counteroffensives, regaining control of several key areas, particularly in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. These efforts were marked by strategic use of Western-supplied weapons and improved coordination among Ukrainian military units. The liberation of occupied territories highlighted Ukraine's resilience and capability to mount effective counterattacks despite the ongoing challenges.

Caliber.Az