Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The stores are clean - the support is still not enough
Niclas Vent
Reporter
This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.
Updated 22.53 | Published 22.06
The largest Swedish support package to date comes with a bitter aftertaste.
It is now close to soprent in the warehouse.
Our ability to quickly get rid of gadgets that can turn the tide of the war in Ukraine will not improve in the future.
It is nothing but ominous.
Nothing short of armored car 302.
It is a rustic vehicle that Ukraine will benefit greatly from. Protected transports, battlefield taxis and medical transports, all of which it is perfectly suited to. Ukraine has already received hundreds of M113s with similar functionality from the US and other countries. They have done the job, and surely the PBV 302 will too.
But it is, after all, a construction from the early 1960s. The wagons are decommissioned by the Swedish Armed Forces, have been in storage for many years without being used, and the condition was already described in 2018 as "highly variable".
Sweden has over 200 vehicles to send. 80-100 are fully functional, but with a little work more than that can be ready for battle again.
The exclamation mark is all the bigger after the second major item in the support package of SEK 13.3 billion that was presented today.
The two ASC 890 planes that Ukraine will receive are very modern and capable radar and reconnaissance planes, which are still in service in the Swedish Air Force under the name S100D. Poland received delivery of two similar planes as recently as last year.
The plane will give Ukraine a much better overview of the airspace, and the ability to detect robots and aircraft at much greater distances than today. The plane's powerful radar will bolster both Ukraine's air defenses and the new F-16 planes, once in place.
However, protecting the Swedish plans will be a challenge. In the air with the radar on they will shine like beacons in the sky, and on the ground they will be constantly hunted. It is not a wild guess that Russia is willing to take significant risks to knock them out.
All in all, the 16th Swedish aid package is the largest to date, and should therefore be a source of joy.
But the implications are troubling.
The West in general, Sweden no exception, is still trying to catch up to a Russian advantage.
The Ukrainian lines are buckling under increasingly heavy airstrikes, and the number of Russian robots being shot down is fewer than before.
The million city of Kharkiv is called "basically completely defenceless".
Ukraine's calls for help with air defense have become increasingly loud.
- Give us your cursed Patriot systems, said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba quite bluntly already two months ago.
Germany has tried to gather countries that can donate more air defense systems, but the turnout has been as scant as it is telling.
There won't be any Patriots from Sweden either. The politicians refer to Sweden's own needs, and that it is a system that is being introduced, which we would therefore find difficult to pass on.
Gripen plane is also out of the question, at least for now. Ukraine is receiving deliveries of F-16 planes, and according to the defense minister, it is difficult to introduce two advanced aircraft systems at the same time. One thing highlighted is the lack of Ukrainian pilots.
What the latest support package quietly reveals is that it is starting to get dirty in the warehouses.
Sweden has hardly anything left to give. Future donations will be less and less physical gadgets and weapons, and more and more money or orders for industry.
Right now, unfortunately, the delivery time of many new weapons is counted this year.
Ukraine is hard pressed and needs help quickly.
Our decreasing ability to contribute with just that bodes very badly.
FACTS
This is part of Sweden's latest support package for Ukraine
- Two radar reconnaissance and command aircraft (ASC 890), including training, technical equipment and method support.
- The fighter robot Rb 99 (AMRAAM).
- 155 mm artillery shells.
- The entire Swedish stock of Pansarbandvagn 302, Pbv 302, including spare parts, maintenance equipment and ammunition.
- Tank vehicles that are surplus from the Armed Forces.
- Maintenance solution for previously donated Swedish equipment.
- Financial support for funds and temporary initiatives to enable rapid and large-scale procurement of equipment for Ukraine.
- In connection with the package, the Total Defense Research Institute is tasked with supporting Ukraine in establishing its own defense research institute.
- Ukraine's combat command capability is further strengthened in the package through a donation of terminals with subscriptions for satellite communications.
Source: The Government / TT
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