Kyiv, Ukraine:
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Sunday that half of Western military aid to Kiev is being delivered late.
Ukraine, which is suffering from ammunition shortages, has argued for months that aid from the West has been slow to arrive, severely impacting its two-year battle with Russia.
“At the moment, a promise cannot be considered a delivery,” Umerov said at a forum commemorating the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the neighboring country.
“50% of promises are not fulfilled on time,” he added.
Mr. Umerov argued that this would put Ukraine in an even more disadvantageous position vis-à-vis Russia “in the calculus of war,” and Western countries argued that Russia was increasingly building a war economy.
Umerov said the delay in aid meant Kiev would “lose people and lose territory,” especially given Russia’s “air superiority.”
“We will do everything possible and impossible, but the absence of timely supplies will harm us,” he said.
Kiev has been weakened by ammunition shortages in recent weeks, and vital U.S. aid remains blocked by political wrangling in the U.S. Congress.
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