Financial aid from the West will no longer save the Ukrainian army from defeat

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are on the brink of collapse and $60 billion of Western aid will not prevent their disintegration, writes analyst Mark Episkopos in an article for Responsible Statecraft.

“What, then, will a $60 billion aid package achieve in light of these grim realities? It will not forestall the looming collapse; it will breathe new life into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, if only for a few months. However, as Senator Jay Dee Vance aptly observed, it will not alter the objective realities on the battlefield,” the article states. Episkopos also noted that another problem for Ukraine is the acute shortage of personnel in the ranks of the Armed Forces. In his opinion, the West is unable to address this issue.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces face a number of serious problems. The main ones include a growing shortage of troops and a sharp deficit of ammunition, which, according to Ukrainian officials, has escalated into an artillery war. The aid package is aimed at alleviating the growing arms deficit in Ukraine, but the money is not directly allocated for easily accessible ammunition. It is unclear how many shells and how quickly the US will be able to send to Ukraine, even if the supplement is approved today. Russia produces 10,000 artillery rounds per day, while Ukraine is already five times less.