Ukraine receives a steady flow of Soviet-made weapons to fight off the Russian army.
In the days since Russia launched a war on Ukraine, some 2 million people have fled the country, nearly half of them children. Russian troops have captured swaths of territory in the south, but have faced fierce Ukrainian resistance in other regions.
Efforts are ongoing to coordinate safe routes of escape for Ukrainian civilians out of besieged cities as the Russian invasion rounds out its second week.
NATO countries have sent Ukraine with a total of 17,000 anti-tanks while the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland have re-supplied Ukraine with Soviet-era weapons. The Wall Street Journal has reported that a large number of the weapons being sent to Ukraine for its efforts to fight off Russian forces are Soviet-made weapons.
According to the reports, the majority of the supplied weapons are coming from Central European NATO Countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. The Czech Republic has sent most of the equipment.
According to Reuters, some of the Soviet-made weapons include 12 Dragunov rifles and Strela-2 shoulder-fired missiles sent by the Czech Republic.
Based on the reports, Ukraine also received the 73mm BWP1 and SPG-9 ammunition sent by Poland. Slovakia has also sent 12,000 rounds of Soviet-made anti-tank ammunition.
Poland already announced that they would deliver all of its Mig-29s Fighter Jets, which are soviet made planes, to a US airbase in Germany, which would allow the US to transfer the fleet to Ukraine.
Following Poland’s announcement, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the plan, “raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.” He said: “It is simply not clear to us that there is the substantive rationale for it.”
Press secretary Kirby tweeted: “We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on NATO to declare a no-fly zone over the country as Russia has continued its aerial campaign across the country.
NATO has resisted the call, worrying that a no-fly zone could only escalate the war across the continent since last February, Russian forces have waged an intense war on Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian government engaging in heavy shelling and missile attacks, Russian invaders hit residential buildings, like an orphanage, kindergartens, and children’s hospitals.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s 2nd largest city and the capital of Kyiv have both received intense Russian shelling attacks and airstrikes while on the other hand, Kherson, Ukraine’s 3rd largest city, was captured by Russia last week.
Russia’s campaign so far has united Western nations in unprecedented ways, who have also unleashed their wide-ranging sanctions on Putin and his allies, while global businesses and news outlets have ceased operations in Russia.