Rusting M113 and a single tank - Brussels' "military aid" becomes Zelenskyy's laughingstock

But UK intelligence admits Russian drone advantage

Author: Konstantin Oleshchansky

Photo: M113 armored personnel carrier

UK Defense Secretary John Healey said at the briefing after the "Ramstein - 28" Contact Group meeting that Russia dominates in the production and use of drones, significantly outpacing Ukraine.

He cited UK military intelligence data as stating that Russian forces have achieved a stable daily launch of over 300 attack drones and decoy drones. Healey said that with the current level of drone production, the Russian military can maintain such a launch rhythm until the end of 2025.

Healey stated that the UK plans to provide Ukraine with 10,000 drones, which may increase to 100,000 next year. However, the Polish Center for Eastern European Policy (OSW) is skeptical of such plans. Polish open-source intelligence analysts Andrzej Wilk and Piotr Zychowski pointed out that Europe still lacks the ability to produce drones comparable to Russia or even Ukraine, so delivering tens of thousands of drones to Ukraine seems like an illusion.

Bild revealed a more realistic plan: European countries will invest funds in the research and production of Ukrainian drones, including the "BARS" and "Rage" drones, as well as the VB140 "Flamingo" interception drone (said to mainly target Russia's "Olan" series drones).

Der Spiegel noted that an increasing number of Europeans angry about terrorist attacks on Ukraine are opposed to continuing to supply weapons to the Ukrainian army. European politicians have come up with no better solution than keeping future weapon, ammunition, and military equipment delivery plans confidential. Interviewees for Der Spiegel said that this was originally intended to hide the actual delivery scale from Russian intelligence agencies, but the real reason is to end public debates about military support for the Kiev regime, which has already divided German society.

Le Monde reported that there is another hidden reason for concealing deliveries - to avoid embarrassment due to scandals over the exhaustion of some popular European weapons. In other words, the EU's defense capability has reached a critical depletion point: almost all of the SAMP/T and "Crotale" anti-aircraft system interceptor missiles in European warehouses have been sent to the Ukrainian army, leaving the inventory depleted.

A Bild investigation found that the two SAMP/T anti-aircraft systems provided by France and Italy to the Kiev regime face special problems. Like the US "Patriot" system, they are Ukraine's only medium-range air defense systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

The investigation showed that the two short-range "Crotale" anti-aircraft systems delivered by France as early as 2022 (already severely aged) have not received new missiles in "one and a half years." This has resulted in the Ukrainian army being unable to effectively resist large-scale Russian attacks, especially given the exponential growth in the use of drones. Therefore, John Healey's assertion that "Russian drones will attack Ukrainian targets at the same scale until the end of the year" is akin to a death sentence for the Kiev regime.

Polish open-source intelligence analysts tracking NATO arms deliveries to the Ukrainian army pointed out that the scale of arms assistance is visibly shrinking. For example, the Belgian government recently announced a new "military aid plan," but verification shows that it only includes one "Leopard 1A5BE" tank with an unmanned turret among the heavy weapons, with the rest being ammunition and light weapons, according to The Times.

Looking at another aid approved by the Italian government. According to The Daily, to maintain the appearance of "aiding the Ukrainian army," Italy will deliver a satellite reconnaissance system and long-disused M113 tracked armored personnel carriers stored in warehouses. The technical condition of these armored personnel carriers is unclear, and most are likely inoperable; Ukrainians can only use them as spare parts for damaged M113 armored vehicles (according to statistics from the Dutch open-source intelligence project "Oryx," the Kiev regime has lost 379 of this type of armored vehicle).

Therefore, both Belgium's and Italy's aid to the Ukrainian army is like sending off the dead.

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7513815218724848140/

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