NATO has delivered almost all combat vehicles to Ukraine, says secretary general

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (April 27) that NATO allies had delivered almost all the combat vehicles promised by them to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.

"More than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have already been delivered. That means over 1,550 armoured vehicles, 230 tanks, and other equipment, including vast amounts of ammunition," he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"In total, we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armoured brigades. This will put Ukraine in the strong position to continue to retake occupied territory," he said at a news conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

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Whether this marks beginning of the end of active Western support to Ukraine is a matter that remains to be seen. There have been voices from the Western sphere that allies cannot keep on supporting and supplying Ukraine indefinitely.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. After sustained gains in first few months of the conflict, Russian forces had to retreat in the face of Ukrainian counterattack. The successful Ukrainian counterattacks are in large parts attributed to Western help that was in the form of monetary aid and weapons.

Currently, the fight between Russian and Ukrainian forces is over the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. On Thursday, a Ukrainian artillery unit fired a US-made howitzer. It is being rumoured that Ukrainian military is preparing for a counteroffensive.

Andrii, a 22-year-old gun commander, told Reuters in a hideout near the artillery position, that although the American-made M119 howitzer was first used in the 1980s, it had one big advantage over Soviet-made guns.

"This (howitzer) is easy to handle. Our (Soviet-made howitzers) are more complicated to handle, which costs us time. And as you know, we don't have much time," he said.

Spotting targets in Bakhmut for Andrii via reconnaissance drones, 24-year-old Yaroslav added that it had become more difficult to hit Russian troops in the embattled town.

"We often observed large groups of soldiers moving around, it was very illogical... they adapted, and now we see them moving in small groups, two to four people that move around, keeping 20 to 30 metres' distance," Yaroslav said.

The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. It said Russian forces had failed to advance on two villages to the northwest. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire.

(With inputs from agencies)

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