Can Ukraine Actually Use the New Weapons Delivered By NATO?

As Russian forces continue the second phase of their invasion of Ukraine, which specifically targets the eastern Donbas region of the country, Western countries are ramping up shipments of heavy weaponry to Ukrainian soldiers.

Deliveries are becoming increasingly frequent, with the Pentagon currently workshopping new solutions to get weaponry and ammunition to Ukraine more quickly. In the last two weeks alone, the Biden administration has begun shipping $1.2 billion worth of howitzers, hundreds of thousands of military rounds, radars, drones, and armored vehicles.

Similarly, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada are continuing their support of Ukraine, sending heavy artillery and ammunition to Ukraine. Canada this week announced that an additional eight armored vehicles built by Roshel will be sent to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

But these continued shipments of weaponry and vehicles to Ukraine present a challenge for Ukrainian fighters who may not have the necessary training to use them. So how is the Ukrainian military solving this problem?

NATO Forces Transfer Soviet-made Equipment and Vehicles 

One of the ways that Western countries have been able to reduce problems relating to Ukrainian soldiers being unfamiliar with new weapons and vehicles is to transfer Soviet-made vehicles that the soldiers are already familiar with.

On April 1, U.S. officials confirmed that the Biden administration would work with allies to transfer a number of Soviet-made tanks to assist Ukrainian defense in the eastern region of Donbas. The aim was to provide Ukrainian soldiers with tanks that they already knew how to use, and the decision came in response to a specific request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian soldiers have also relied heavily on the Soviet-era standard-issue rifles throughout this conflict with Russia, and several European countries have provided these weapons as part of their aid packages.

When Poland expressed willingness to send all of its stock of MiG-29 Soviet-era warplanes to Ukraine in March, the aim was to ensure that Ukrainian pilots had planes available to them that they understood. The planes, however, were equipped with some standard NATO upgrades that raised questions about whether Ukrainian fighters would be familiar enough with the aircraft to use them properly.

U.S. Looks to Shift to NATO Weapons

This week, reports suggested that while the United States recognizes the importance of providing Soviet military equipment that Ukrainian soldiers are familiar with, the White House also realizes that standard NATO and U.S. weaponry may soon need to be given to Ukraine as future aid packages.

“Up until now, we’ve been working at helping them meet their immediate needs,” one U.S. official said. “Now we’re getting to the place where we need to start looking ahead to additional future possibilities.”

The White House’s recent $322 million foreign military financial package supports the current operation of purchasing Soviet-era weapons and munitions overseas, but as time goes by and those weapons become increasingly difficult to procure, the United States is expected to transition Ukrainian soldiers to U.S. and NATO systems. A U.S. official told Defense One that the U.S. intends to begin transferring Western multiple launch rocket systems and artillery.

Javelin anti-tank missile being fired along with a mortar. Image credit: UK government.

Another official told the outlet that the financial aid given to Ukraine will also be given to help with “modernizing Ukraine’s weapons inventory through the provision of more precise and capable weapons, including sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and other small arms.”

The problem now, however, is how those soldiers will be trained. A small number of Ukrainian soldiers who were present in the United States before the Ukraine invasion began have been taught how to use U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles. Those soldiers have since returned to Ukraine to train other soldiers.

President Joe Biden also suggested in March that U.S. soldiers were training Ukrainian troops in Poland, a NATO territory.

U.S. Army Rangers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, fire off a AT-4 at a range on Camp Roberts, Calif., Jan 26, 2014. Rangers use a multitude of weaponry during their annual tactical training. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Rashene Mincy/ Not Reviewed)

Depending on how long the conflict lasts, and as Ukraine shifts to U.S. and NATO weapons, training of Ukrainian soldiers in NATO’s eastern flank will likely increase.

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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