Polish SAU "Crab" are ready for the front in addition to the already used armament, in general to date the request from the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 155-millimeter artillery is 90% fulfilled, said Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.
"I am glad to report that the Polish SAU "Crab" is ready for combat missions at the front. After the M777 and FH70 guns, the CEASAR and M109A3 SAUs are the 5th type of 155-mm artillery that we managed to engage," Reznikov noted in Facebook.
According to the Minister of Defense, the key strategic decision of the last period was a change in philosophy - "launched the transfer of the AFU to heavy weapons used by NATO member states". First of all, this applies to artillery.
"As of today, the Ministry of Defense has secured supplies to the AFU more than 150 artillery platforms of 155-mm caliber. The stocks of shells of this caliber already exceed the stocks of large caliber Soviet-type shells by 10%, which were as of February 24, 2022," said the head.
At the same time, according to him, the effectiveness of these shells is higher than the Soviet samples, so there is less consumption.
"I want to emphasize that, for example, for 155 mm caliber artillery, the Ministry of Defense has already fulfilled the initial request from the Armed Forces by 90%. 100% of this initial requirement will be closed within 1-2 weeks. But circumstances on the battlefield change, the need increases." The General Staff reacts to changes in the operational situation - the Defense Ministry changes tasks to its command in accordance with the requests of the General Staff. There is already a clear plan for the supply of artillery by the end of July," he stressed.
"At the same time more than fifty guns of other large calibers were supplied to the AFU. As well as shells for them, which are more than 75% of the volume that was at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion," Reznikov added.
Also, speaking of armaments, he pointed out that "in terms of supplying the AFU with tanks and other armored vehicles of the Soviet model... Ukrainian Defense Ministry competes for leadership with the Russian army."
"We received about 250 armored vehicles of Western models (M113 TM, M113 YPR-765, Bushmaster, Mastiff, Husky, Wolfhound, etc.) from partners and we continue this work," the minister noted.
Among other things, he said, the Defense Ministry has transferred hundreds of drones, including several dozen strike drones, through various mechanisms. "We expect serious UAVs in the coming aid packages," Reznikov said.
The coastal defense, according to the head of the Defense Ministry, "is reinforced with extremely effective Harpoon complexes, which, combined with our Neptuns, are already forcing the enemy fleet to keep its distance so as not to repeat the fate of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moscow."
"The other day important news was announced - American and British partners decided to provide Ukraine with MLRS. I would like to note that our soldiers have been learning to operate them for some time now," the minister pointed out.
According to him, the training of teams for different types of weapons for some positions began back in March. Now more than 1.5 thousand Ukrainian servicemen are being trained or will start in the near future.
"The important point: we have already received from partners, purchased on the market, manufactured and transferred to the armed forces a significant amount of weapons. It would be enough for a victorious defense against any army in Europe. But not against russia. russian Moloch has plenty more in store to devour human lives to satisfy his imperial ego. That's why we emphasize - Ukraine badly needs heavy weaponry, and very quickly," Reznikov emphasized.
