Ukraine will be ready to use western equipment for offensive in several months – defense minister

Oleksii Reznikov

Oleksii Reznikov (Minister of Defence, Ukraine) during the Meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group - Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers, Brussels Belgium. Credit: NATO press center 

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The Armed Forces of Ukraine will be fully prepared for an offensive with Western equipment in a few months, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with Ukrinform on the sidelines of a Ramstein meeting in Brussels.

According to him, the allies have clearly stated the terms of delivery of Western equipment, which are connected to the duration of training for Ukrainian soldiers.

He noted that the equipment cannot “just come in” to Ukraine, and the crews for Bradley, Stryker, and other systems must undergo training.

“And it’s not just about training the crew itself, it’s also about their interaction with the whole unit, for example, a tank battalion, and so on. See, their task is to perform the task set by Ukraine’s General Staff. And this task is primarily to de-occupy the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It does take time, though. We’re talking several months – that’s when we will be fully prepared,” he said.

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