Ukraine's Top General Berates Western Allies for Weapons Shortages

Facts

• Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, launched a rare rebuke of Western partners in an interview published on Friday — alleging that Ukraine's counteroffensive progress is being hampered by waiting on allies to send much-needed weapon supplies.¹
• Speaking with the Washington Post, Zaluzhny pointed to the lack of modern fighter jets received by Ukraine, stating that Western countries would never launch an offensive without air superiority. He also bemoaned shortages of artillery ammunition, stating that Russian forces were sometimes outfiring them at a rate of 10 to one.²
• As a result, Zaluzhny said it angers him to hear from some that the counteroffensive is going slower than anticipated. He added: "Without being fully supplied, these [counteroffensive] plans are not feasible at all. But they are being carried out. Yes, maybe not as fast as the participants in the show, the observers, would like, but that is their problem."²
• Meanwhile, America's top general, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday he was unsurprised by the pace of Ukraine's counteroffensive. "I said this is going to take six, eight or ten weeks," Milley said. "It's going to be very difficult, it's going to be very long, and it’s going to be very, very bloody. No one should have any illusions about any of that. Ukraine is fighting for its life."³
• Milley further added that US and NATO allies are providing Ukraine with as much weaponry "as is humanly possible." Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced a $500M package that included armored vehicles, artillery rockets, and rounds for missile defense systems.³
• Meanwhile, speaking with Spanish media, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine wanted to show results before a July 11 NATO summit but warned that his troops had to slow down because of a lack of artillery shells.⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Yahoo News (a), ³The Washington Times, and ⁴Yahoo News (b).

Narratives

• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. Ukraine is advancing as fast as it can, but it's being severely hampered by a shortage of necessary weaponry, such as fighter jets and artillery shells. Western partners need to ensure that Ukraine's stockpiles are well maintained — or they risk the prospect of the counteroffensive failing to make major gains.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Washington Times. Ukraine's measured advance is nothing to be concerned with. War is a slow, bloody business, and nobody should be under any illusion about the difficulty of advance. Nonetheless, Ukraine continues to make steady gains, and it's going in the right direction.

Predictions